2006-06-08 17:32:48 · 20 answers · asked by omed m 1 in Social Science ➔ Sociology
Evil is not needed for good to exist. Good can exist on it's own, but viewing good and evil next to each other, seeing the contrast allows one to see the light stand out much better with a dark background.
2006-06-08 17:37:02 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
Good and bad are used as frames of reference to quantify each other. Today was a good day, for instance, because I didn't get forget my lunch at home like yesterday, which was bad.
So, if nobody ever lied to anyone ever again, that'd be good, but we wouldn't call it good, because it would be the norm. Now, I can say my dad is a good, honest man, and people will appreciate it because there are so many dishonest men out there. Without dishonesty, that virtue doesn't exist-- it's just standard.
The necessity of good and evil in relation to each other, though, should never be a reason to stop promoting good in the interest of abolishing evil. The impossibility of it alone is reason enough for the struggle to have virtue.
2006-06-09 08:18:42 · answer #2 · answered by ishotvoltron 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I totally agree with dzr0001. Good does not mean anything if there is nothing bad to compare it to. I believe in a odd a way, we need bad things to happen to us just like we need good things. We crave it, that is why many people create so much drama and trouble over nothing. As far as perfection goes, it's probably either two things: One, perfection does not exist or two, maybe we really don't understand what perfection is. Maybe perfection is bad and good coexisting and everything in between.
2006-06-09 00:42:10 · answer #3 · answered by hpotter4ever2000 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
That's a complicated question with many, many answers.
I believe that good can exist without evil but that without evil, we would take good for granted. We need juxaposition to see what exactly good is. (For example, would we know that sunny days are beautiful if there were no rainy days to compare it to?)
I don't believe that "perfect world," the one that is idealized, can exist. We need that balance between good and bad to have perception. It's all about frames of reference. Besides, I've always thought that perhaps, perfect would be boring.
Great question, it really made me think! :)
2006-06-09 15:48:35 · answer #4 · answered by akatd 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
you mainly have bad through the actions of people greed, war etc
i dont feel you need bad to exist in order for there to be good. To have a perfect world you would need to get rid of people as they cause most the bad stuff
2006-06-09 19:37:57 · answer #5 · answered by mumoftheyear 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Your question creates something of a paradox for me. Enduring pain and suffering is supposed to be good for the soul. So, ironically, if you have had a hard life you will be rewarded when you die. If you have had a relatively easy life, then you will not have been tested.
I suppose this means that we need the harshness of this world in order to prepare adequately for the next. Good and bad if you like.
2006-06-15 06:46:56 · answer #6 · answered by Veritas 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
good can not exist without evil, for good deeds need something to quantify there goodness some sort of scale if you like. Evil is the grand legitermiser of good hence good cannot exist without it. Even so called good deeds are not allways as they seem, for instance why dose somebody do a good deed is it for another person which most would say yes, or dose it give them a sense of pleasure helping others , so it becomes self serving not selfless.
2006-06-09 07:45:05 · answer #7 · answered by ianjefferies1 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I do believe that you need both good and bad. Good cannot be good if there is no bad, and vice versa.
Perfection isn't "all good" because if that is the case, "all bad" would be perfect too. Instead, perfection means a balance of both good and bad.
And in that sense, perfection is equal to 0, zero, nothing. Nothing is perfect and perfect is nothing.
2006-06-09 03:48:46 · answer #8 · answered by LittleMuffin 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
How do you define good and bad? It is like the word "quality", it means something different to everyone and to everything that it is applied to.
I think we tend to label things good and bad because if we didn't, we couldn't compare them. Our brains have to categorise everything and label it for "filing" so we need to differenciate between good and bad in order to understand what we are seeing, doing, feeling etc.
I don't honestly believe that a perfect world exists, because again, what is perfect for one person could be absolute hell for another.
2006-06-09 03:32:02 · answer #9 · answered by Caroline H 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A perfect world doesn't exist. But if it did then no bad would exist. Cuz perfect doesn't have any room for bad.
2006-06-09 00:38:10 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋