I define evil as conduct. People confuse sickness with evil. To feel the feelings, or to think the thoughts may be sick. Acting on those things is evil. Evil conduct is neither the product of ignorance nor a mental illness. It... is... a... choice. Evil is a behavior. Evil is always a matter of choice. Evil is not thought; it is conduct. And that conduct is always volitional. And just as evil is always a choice, sickness is always the absence of choice. Sickness happens. Evil is inflicted.
I define evil as conduct. People confuse sickness with evil. To feel the feelings, or to think the thoughts may be sick. Acting on those things is evil. Evil conduct is neither the product of ignorance nor a mental illness. It... is... a... choice. Evil is a behavior. Evil is always a matter of choice. Evil is not thought; it is conduct. And that conduct is always volitional. And just as evil is always a choice, sickness is always the absence of choice. Sickness happens. Evil is inflicted.
-Andrew Vachss