Clifford Pickover has compiled a list of the top 10 evil people of all time and the top 10 good people of all time . He is taking suggestions for alterations and/or additions to either group if you are compelled to weigh in.

Except to say that they are interesting reading, I am withholding comment on the lists themselves. The subject of good and evil, however, is something I would like to spend a moment on. In particular, I am concerned with whether or not good and evil exist apart from humanity. These two extremes (opposite sides of the same coin) are, of course, inherent in any system of morals which we construct for ourselves or have imposed upon us. As a human creation, morality is subject to alteration, evolution and mutation over time and depending upon, in regards to social morality, who is in power. Is there a larger morality beyond the human mind?

I don't know but I find in asking the above question that another way to phrase it might be: Is there a God? For surely, if there was a fundamental morality extant in the universe itself, it would have to have been fashioned by an intelligence greater than ours. Assuming that God (whoever or whatever you conceive that to be) does exist, we find ourselves asking where evil fits in. This is only a question, of course, if the God you are assuming is a good one.

I tend to believe that the human animal is more than he/she seems, that we are merely a part of something larger than ourselves. Good and evil are human constructs but are not excluded from divinity because of that - we, ourselves, are divine. But again, if we are indeed Holy creatures, how can we be capable of evil? We are capable of evil because we exist in a world of dualities - it is our obligation to use the brains we have been born with to be the best that we can be. Everday we are faced with choices of good and bad (evil is not a daily thing for most of us but let us consider that great evil can accumulate from many small bad choices). I know what good is for me and I know that I must choose good whenever the choice arises to grow into that larger part of myself.