And please don't tell me that whatever God says is good is good because most rational human beings do not accept any concept based soley on the word of any authority (including God's authority).
2007-03-03 06:59:36 · 20 answers · asked by alexandria_bonaparte 1 in Arts & Humanities ➔ Philosophy
I will attempt to answer this question outside of the moral relativism that seems to be running rampant here.
Good is something that is needed for perfection. The perfection of the human being is something that is objective and not relative to each culture or individual. We all need food to continue to live and be more perfect. We all need love to be more perfect. We all need truth to be more perfect. And the list goes on... It does not matter if your concept of human perfection differs from mine for we are both human and humanity is one in essence. Humanity is what we both share in and is common to us both. Therefore since humantiy is what is common to us all humans, the good (that which is needed for perfection) is not relative to culture or individual. We may simply disagree, but this does not change the truth of what is.
Evil is the absence of some act or thing which is needed for perfection. Acts that cause startvation, hate, and falsitiy are then evil for food, love, and truth are examples of what is needed for perfection of human nature. Just as good is understood as objective (c.f. above), evil is not relative.
2007-03-03 09:41:33 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I define it as a moral code that isn't taught--it's inside a person. Even a baby knows the difference between a good action and a bad one. It's a deep knowing that tells you right from wrong. Like a conscience. And of course we don't listen to it, because we are human and we always do what is the worst thing for us. But I think that initially, a person knows, when you get down to it, what is evil and what is good.
2007-03-03 07:25:22 · answer #2 · answered by Colie B 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The good and evil that you see don't even exist in reality, at least not outside of the mind that believes in them. They are only judgments passed by the individual from their own unique perspective. What one person sees as bad or evil may seem to be the only logical thing to do from some other perspective. The ideas of both good and evil are point of view specific. This is why people like bush and bin laden are either loved or hated. Bush is seen as good by people who share his fear based thought system. Those who have a compassionate concern for all of mankind often see him as evil.
Bin laden is much the same. He is a villain in much of the western world, but he is somewhat of a celebrated pop star on the Middle East. There are T-shirt shops that sell items with his picture as though he was Jesus. It all depends on your point of view or perspective.
To sum it all up good is the name we give to people who do things that we think we like.
Evil is the name we give to people who do the things that we don’t like.
This is of course based solely on our particular point of view.
Love and blessings
Don
2007-03-03 08:40:23 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
honestly.... i think there is no good or evil. Nothing can be classified that simply. One person could be disobeying the law, or "taking care" of a person, in order to free someone from something, or fix something for the greater good. Then someone could be doing something great for 90% of the people, but for the other 10% is hurting them. Some say vengeance and revenge is evil... but if it is usually to free someone, serve justice, bring closure or just make then better... then its good. You have to decide for yourself - is it the end that justify the means of the good or evil that someone did or is it "if you do one thing wrong your evil.... go to hell" ??
2007-03-03 07:54:04 · answer #4 · answered by ? 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
the concept of good and evil is actually personal opinion. Like hitler, even though i personally dont condone his acts, he did get his people out of a double depression and built the autobons in Germany. It depends on what the persons morals are and you have to think about it from their situation and listen to thier opionions and why they believe in waht they belive so basically the good and evil thing comes down to the situation and what you and the other people/person belives as far a personal morals and concepts.
2007-03-03 07:49:44 · answer #5 · answered by kitsune_rose_chan 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Read Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance and Lila: An Inquiry Into Morals (both my Robert M. Pirsig).
2007-03-03 07:01:49 · answer #6 · answered by Ecesis 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Good and evil are symbols of truths or falsehoods, dichotomies and dualism. what then is truth? a mobile army of metaphors, metonyms, and anthropomorphisms: in short, a sum of human relations which have been poetically and rhetorically intensified, transferred, and embellished, and which, after long usage, seem to a people to be fixed, canonical, and binding. truths are illusions which we have forgotten are illusions—they are metaphors that have become worn out and have been drained of sensuous force, coins which have lost their embossing and are now considered as metal and no longer as coins.
2007-03-03 07:09:36 · answer #7 · answered by mezizany 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Depends on where you stand. It's relative, not constant, and differs from person to person. Trying to define good/evil is like saying the world is black and white, but there is no black or white, there's just grey.
2007-03-03 07:06:41 · answer #8 · answered by Ting Err 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
each person has different ideas about what is good or bad. i think that evil does not exist but in the religious books.
good and bad are relative matters
overall, i would define good as what brings positive consequences to our self, to ppl around us, to our species and to our world.
bad would bring the negative results.
2007-03-03 07:15:37 · answer #9 · answered by zeke 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I define things more as harmfull or helpful or somewhere in between.
Things that cause harm to others are absolutely wrong. I guess you could classify that as evil.
Things that help others is therefore helpful and I guess you can classify that as good.
The reference to "God" or religion is pertenent since most of the loudest proponents of any religion have completely twisted the teachings they profess.
2007-03-03 07:11:11 · answer #10 · answered by afreshpath_admin 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋