Ethics contemplates upon the notions of good and bad. It is the science of supreme good. It defines what is good. But in order to understand moral good it is necessary to know what moral evil is. Moral evil is a wilful violation of moral law. It is, in this way, distinct from physical evil which is exemplified by flood, earthquake, etc.
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These are natural calamities unrelated to human volition and are based on natural causes. They bring serious problems to man but than is not responsible for them. He can minimise but not completely stop them. On the other hand man is completely responsible for moral evil. Man can put a stop to it. Theft, murder and similar crimes are moral evils. Thus in every society crimes are to be punished constitutionally.
Moral Evil and Error:
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Moral evil is distinct from intellectual blunder or error. It is a fallacy in thinking the causes of which are man’s intellectual limitations or logical mistakes. Such mistakes can occur even in moral judgments resulting in wrong activities but it is not moral evil, it not having been perpetrated.
But if logical mistakes or intellectual errors occur through carelessness or conscious effort then they will be treated as immoral. But here the moral evil is not that error but carelessness which was so willed, because moral evil is related to volition.
Moral Evil and Sin:
Even sin and moral evil are not identical. Sin is a wrong action, moral evil a wrong volition. Sin is a result, moral evil a reason or intention. Similarly, moral evil differs from vice. The motivating cause behind moral evil is vice. It is a defect in character. Sin is its result. In this way, moral evil is different from sin and vice although it is not separate from them. Actually, the distinction between moral evil, sin and vice is merely conceptual, not practical.
Moral Evil and Crime:
Moral evil is different even from crime. Crimes are those actions which are prohibited by die state which is constitutionally empowered to punish such actions. Iii this way, the violation of state orders is a crime in most states. But it is not necessary that violation of state order be always a moral evil. It may even be a moral good sometimes.
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As a general rule, crime and moral evil can be differentiated with respect to the punishability of crime while such is not a necessary antecedent of moral evil. But notwithstanding it, society treats both moral evil crime as bad and condemns them.