Light form Death Note is evil

Since this round of debate isn't meant to be used for rebuttals I shall leave Pro's arguments untouched but let it be known that there are many flaws with Pro's case whcih I shall be promptly addressing in Round 3.Overall Case: Light Yagami wasn't evil, he was a mentally ill hero.Point 1: Light is not a psychopath, he is a passionate Narcissist.When it comes to determining the good from the evil in this world, the motive behind their actions is an essential component since a person meaning to do good could end up appearing evil if the results of their actions were not what they intended and vice versa. In the case of Light Yagami, I believe he suffers from a horde of mental disorders including narcissistic personality disorder and borderline personality disorder.I shall go into these three mental disorders (1 of which is a mental illness) and explain why I believe that Light, in a court of Law would be committed to a mental hospital, not to prison. Following this, I shall elaborate on why Light @Yagami is not a psychopath but simply a deluded narcissist.Narcissitic personality disorder has the following symptoms (Hallmarks of narcissistic personality disorder, 2016): "A pervasive pattern of grandiosity (in fantasy or behavior), need for admiration, and lack of empathy, beginning by early adulthood and present in a variety of contexts, as indicated by five (or more) of the following: Lacks empathy: is unwilling to recognize or identify with the feelings and needs of others Has a grandiose sense of self-importance (e.g., exaggerates achievements and talents, expects to be recognized as superior without commensurate achievements) Has a sense of entitlement, i.e., unreasonable expectations of especially favorable treatment or automatic compliance with his or her expectations Is interpersonally exploitative, i.e., takes advantage of others to achieve his or her own ends Is often envious of others or believes others are envious of him or her Requires excessive admiration Shows arrogant, haughty behaviors or attitudes Believes that he or she is "special" and unique and can only be understood by, or should associate with, other special or high-status people (or institutions) Is preoccupied with fantasies of unlimited success, power, brilliance, beauty, or ideal love" Light Yagami is a textbook narcissist. He has all symptoms to the highest degree possible in a human being. Does this make him evil? No, it does not. Either an overly complimenting or overly negligent style of parenting can resul tin a narcissistic child. (Goldberg, 2015) Since Light had no say in his upbringing, we cannot blame him for this overly sensitive ego that he has.So, what of borderline personality disorder? This is clinically referred to as a mental illness, not just a mental disorder.(Borderline personality disorder, 2013)Symptoms include (Mayo Clinic, 2015): "An intense fear of abandonment, even going to extreme measures to avoid real or imagined separation or rejection A pattern of unstable intense relationships, such as idealizing someone one moment and then suddenly believing the person doesn't care enough or is cruel Rapid changes in self-identity and self-image that include shifting goals and values, and seeing yourself as bad or as if you don't exist at all Periods of stress-related paranoia and loss of contact with reality, lasting from a few minutes to a few hours Impulsive and risky behavior, such as gambling, reckless driving, unsafe sex, spending sprees, binge eating or drug abuse, or sabotaging success by suddenly quitting a good job or ending a positive relationship Suicidal threats or behavior or self-injury, often in response to fear of separation or rejection Wide mood swings lasting from a few hours to a few days, which can include intense happiness, irritability, shame or anxiety Ongoing feelings of emptiness Inappropriate, intense anger, such as frequently losing your temper, being sarcastic or bitter, or having physical fights" Although Light is never shown to be directly suicidal, he is often shown to choose to more harmful of two options to himself when he could go about things a safer way. This includes gion up to an armed FBI agent who he did end up successfully killing as he'd already written the man's name in his death note. Other examples include when he intentionally gets imprisoned to 'prove his innocence' and when he goes to great lengths to get L's name when he never needed to kill L in order to 'win'. Another time is how he ends up losing to N; he never had to agree to meet him and on top of that he intentionally was in the building that Mello was going to bomb just to prove that he was superior. There are many examples of Light's thrillseeking ways including him making himself forget the Death Note in the hopes of somehow ending up to get hold of it again.Suicide aside, he shows clear signs of all other symptoms. Once Misa shows him affection, he simply can't help but givein. Sure, he's a narcissist so the realtionship was always about him but he still did genuinely love Misa. When he and L were together with her, he showed clear rage whenever Misa woudl be nice to L or anyone else of rthat matter, this is because Boderline sufferers struggle with the thought of ababndonment even in the slightest form. He goes form idolizing L and his father to loathing them to then idolizing them once again all in the space of a few episodes. He then ends up hating L again and hating his father but then just as his father dies he feels bad and regrets the abandonment that is happenign so he lies ot his father to make him feel better (no one was listening so he had no reason to lie to his father about being Kira, yet he did it to make his father die happy). So, why isn't Light a psychopath? Narcissism and psychopathy can often be closely combined, so can Boderline and psychopathy but Light is not psychopathic. While he has a very warped mind and feels emotions in odd ways, he feels them nonetheless. He doesn't kill just because he can, he kills with a clear selfless goal in mind and the only selfish aspect of it is his attention seeking narcissism coming into play.While Light's past is never directly shown in the show, it is hinted many times that he grew up a child prodigy who was showered with praise his entire childhood (one of the two typical triggers for narcissism). On the other hand, it is never shown that either of his parents are remotely psychopathic (which would imply that Light himself never had the geneti cpredisposition to become a psychopath) and furthermore, Light is never shown to be cruel to those he kills, I will go into the case Pro brings about the woman who he convinces to commit suicide in Round 3.Point 2: Light consistently brings joy to those who come accross him.Apart from the FBI agents, anyone who meets and greets Light, even L himself almost immediatley liken to him. He has a 'way about him' that makes anyone who meets him adore him. This is because he is very charming and very good at making people feel better as they depart from him than they were when they came across him. It isn't a case of manipulation. Apart from Misa (who was a threat to Light as if she got caught with the death note, he'd soon be caught) Light never fakes liking someone for a greater gain. Even the brunette who he later has an affair with, he doesn't fake liking her, he only fakes that on top of liking her he is using her. Light is compelled to use people because of how dangerous what he does is. He is a fugitive on the run but has to be 'on the run' in pain sight of those who investigate him for his own safety and the fact that he is one of the team memers' son.Someone who was 'evil' would relish in the pain of others yet Light not only kills people instead of torturing them but not even once is shown to write a painful method of death. He is shown to be merciful at all times other than with the woman Pro mentioned. Even L, who Light had every reason to kill mercilessly, he kills in a very sudden and relatively painless fashion. L only realized Light had won an instant before he was deceased.Light is consistently shown to make others feel better while very very rarely ever relishing in another's suffering and this is simply not what an evil person does.BibliographyHallmarks of narcissistic personality disorder (2014) Available at: https://www.bpdcentral.com... (Accessed: 11 August 2016).Goldberg, J. (2015) What is Narcissism? Available at: http://www.webmd.com... (Accessed: 11 August 2016).Borderline personality disorder (2013) Available at: https://www.nimh.nih.gov... (Accessed: 11 August 2016).Mayo Clinic (2015) Borderline personality disorder symptoms. Available at: http://www.mayoclinic.org... (Accessed: 11 August 2016).