EvilThoughts

Quora Answer : As an atheist, how do you deal with an unintentional evil thought?

Mar 3, 2014

The brain is a complex system. It continuously throws up ideas and desires. These come from a variety of sources including memories of experiences I've had, things I've seen and heard (including via books, TV, cinema, music etc.)

In addition I have emotional states, stress, lust, greed, jealousy etc. These feed the imagination.

Sometimes an idea pops up that my reflective self isn't all that proud of. But, you know, unless that reflective self actually takes ownership of / responsibility for the idea, by dwelling on it and trying to put it into action, then ... well, I'm not really responsible for it. I just move on and focus on the things I am proud of. I don't really consider it something I need to beat myself up about.