Are 'Good' and 'Evil' entirely man-made constructs?

Question

Do you believe our notion of good and evil is purely a part of our socio-political and spiritual education, or are they very real forces?

And, if the latter case is, in your opinion true, would the stronger person be the one woh embraced both facets of their personality as opposed to trying to 'pick a side'?

Answer 1

No they are real and tangible. do not be decieved.

Answer 2

People I've met would agree that stealing and lying, for example, are wrong. They wouldn't use a logically constructed argument, they would assume I accepted their view as unquestionable. They seem to identify good and evil on an instinctive basis rather than a logical one. They certainly feel strongly about it. Why should instinct and feeling be involved if it's just a question of education? If what we call conscience is a guide provided by God, then their response is easier to explain. If conscience is from God, then good and evil are what He tells us they are. I think good and evil are real. It doesn't add up the other way.

Answer 3

I think they are entirely man-made constructs and of course they have no validity in Buddhist thought where there are just events. For me the stronger person is the one who always does the right thing even if the consequences for themselves are not favourable. I think being a human being (rather than human animal) is about transcending the baser instincts such as greed, malice, envy, anger etc We all have those feelings on some level at some time but it is what we do with them that counts. The strong person is one who notices that anger has come up for them and who does not respond to it.

Answer 4

The Lord said to Adam and Eve..out of EVERTHING in the garden
you may partake..except that tree there.. The TREE OF KNOWLEDGE OF GOOD AND EVIL...and if you do you will positivley die. This arrangement went on happily until one day the resister Satan appeared to Eve in the form of a snake and said eat it your eyes will be opened up and you will become like God..Knowing the difference between GOOD and EVIL...so they did and the next day God found them dressed and asked ..how did you know you were naked..youve been at my tree havent you?

I remember the first time i partook the tree, it was at a party and after i partook i had such a headrush, and went into just such an altered state that Satan had predicted..the only difference being..God clearly defined the Tree to Adam and Eve whearas i was Ignorant...no matter my mind expanded(permenantly)..and I
had amazing valuable insights into the divine and the cosmic process..Black became white.....Dark became light.. What Tree am i talking about
Marijuana..Cannabis sativa...Hashish...Spliff..
now i know why and so do you...The curse of Yahweh..freely available for about 20 quid an 8th...thats why Rastafarians take it
to enlighten their spirituality....Reality is plural and changable
Opposites are equal....stay illuminated,,forget the darkside..the shadow way...and ,,Do it for Jah!!

Everything we see and seem is just a dream within a dream!

Answer 5

They clearly are man made constructs as you put it. You dont see animals caring whether what they are doing is right or wrong.

Surely being a completely good person is going to be better, but the second something evil comes along they are gonna be battered coz the evil one will just do something evil and trick the good one.

THe strongest person willhave experienced evil but learnt that it is bad.

Answer 6

"Evil" is a word that is associated with religious morality.

But is there "BAD" and "GOOD". Absolutely.

You don't have to believe in God or have religion to be ethical.

"BAD" is something we have all agreed is unacceptable behavior in society., that which hurts others, etc.

And if someone were raised by wolves and all of a sudden came into society to assimilate, I believe that person would still 'know' that raping a woman or killing someone didn't quite feel right to do because he would feel like it was off limits behavior... Is everyone else acting like this? If everyone were, it would be quite chaotic, quite miserable, quite unsuitable to even live and thrive, no?

I can't see how there could ever be a bizarre world where there was no punishment for any crime and everyone just accepted that others raped, stole, destroyed and killed their loved ones.
There is no such thing EVER anywhere.....It would be species and societal suicide.
We recognize bad behavior for self preservation.

There are absolutely absolutes.

No where in the universe if there is such a thing as causing suffering and injustice would that be considered a "good" thing.

Answer 7

They;re real and not man made, evil had to be around before man decided to use it, otherwise what would have been the choice.. Learning to control and make wise decisions is the hard part as opposed to picking sides.

Answer 8

The concept of good and evil derives from religion, otherwise, how would we know the difference between them, and whether there was such a thing as good and evil.

That is why left wingers (unbelievers) try to invent moral values from scratch. They have created the science of philosophy, which is a man made attempt to override God by creating its own morals and ethics. I believe, that it is impossible for mankind to do this without first being given a moral template of first principles, like the Ten Commandments. That is why man made morality tends to be of flexible according the convenience of the age and circumstances that we are living in. (moral relativism).

It seems to me, that it is in the nature of fundamental moral values, that they remain fixed over time and not flexible according to convenience. If not, they are not moral values. That is why, for example, Christians should not believe in abortion, unlike left wing feminists, who do, because their beliefs derive from their feminism, which is part of a left wing socio/political agenda.

You can't run a successful society without a set of values that we all subscribe to, otherwise it would be anarchy. I don't think the things you refer to are 'forces', we have to learn them from society as we are growing up. Our personality is shaped by them, rather than things that we naturally inherit. In any society, there needs to be checks and balances to stop those who have chosen evil, to get away with it.

Answer 9

Of course they are man-made constructs.

Nature makes no judgement as to what is good and what is evil.

If you do something that results in the destruction of 6 billion humans, it will be viewed by humans as the most evil thing possible.

But it would be viewed by the bacteria that decompose our bodies as good.

Answer 10

Every thing in our entire existence is man-made in the sense that things only are what we make of them.

When a tree falls in a forest and no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound?

Nope.

There is no such thing as god, the devil, heaven, hell, good or evil. They are all the musings of man.

Answer 11

Good and evil are variable categories of actions. The variable is on the point of view of the individual perceiving them.
There are no 'sides' to your personality. You are you. The great pretense begins when you decide you are something other than yourself (i.e. 'good' or 'bad').