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 This discussion of evil reminds me of the situation Professor Dalke posed to us in the first couple of weeks of class, when we were discussing The Emotional Dog and its Rational Tail. For those of you who weren't in this discussion group, the situation went something like this: 

Two adult siblings, a brother and a sister, are vacationing together in France. They are staying in the same hotel room, because it's cheaper and, after all, they're family. One night, they have an enjoyable evening of wine and conversation, and get a bit drunk. In the course of that conversation, they decide to have sex with each other. The next morning, they discuss their experience, conclude that they both enjoyed it, and decide never to do it or talk about it again. Was what they did wrong?

Our class was somewhat divided about this situation. Many people instantly voiced a visceral disgust, while others wondered why it was anyone's business whether it was wrong. Those who voiced disgust often connected it to their own personal awkwardness upon hearing that story; one person said something to the effect of, "God, that would make family dinners even more awkward!" The problem with trying to define evil, and the problem with trying to rule on this situation, is that it is so subjective, both tangerines and vlopez have stated. Everyone has their own cultural and personal boundaries, and the likelihood that one deed with transgress everyone's boundaries and be labelled universally evil is highly unlikely. 

What's even more problematic for me, though, is the stigma of that word "evil." By now, I'm sure you've realized that I'm a bit of a humanist, and I have reservations about using the word "evil" because of its connotations of irreversability, and its polarizing effect on other humans. To label the act of another human being as "evil" is to pretty much exile that person from the rest of human society, and to label that human as "evil" regardless of their desires for redemption. If, as Peck says, evil is a choice, then the person who chooses to do evil can also choose to repent and do good; but if the word "evil" is applied to that person, then that person will never get the chance to do good, because they will be stigmatized as evil.