Is something good because of its properties, or because of its function?

Answer 1

i might choose function i think. i'd rather a job got done that sit around argiung if it looks god or bad. if it's designed for a purpose then no sense in stopping it for make up and attraction. look at plumbing, gross but needed for average lifestyle

Answer 2

That would be a false dilemma. We don't need to choose between the two, and further, there are other reasons why a thing is good or valued.

Ex1: Some art is good because of its aesthetic properties (i.e., not art designed to do something, e.g., to make a statement). Art doesn't properly have a function but to be art. It's only if you use it as a paperweight or to cover up a hole in the wall does it have a function. Therefore, we value (some) art for its properties alone.

Ex2: A hammer is good because we use it to hammer nails, etc. -- things we couldn't easily do without such a tool. And it matters little what its properties are (what kind of wood, color, etc.) as long as it gets the job done. Therefore, we value hammers for their function.

Ex3: But there's at least one more option, in between the spectrum of intrinsic/latent properties and actualized properties (or function); that's potential. A chick is good not because (or not mainly because) it is soft and furry and cute. But a chick is good because it can turn into a chicken, which has the function of feeding us with eggs or meat (do internal organs count as meat?...never mind).

Ex4: Here's a weird example. Suppose you were studying a quantum physics book; it is good because of its properties (the content or words, which are needed to communicate knowledge to you). But what if your door keep shutting by itself and you needed a doorstop? You then close your book and use it as a doorstop. So now you value the book for its function (as a doorstop). So what's good about something can alternate back and forth between properties and function.

Ex5: Accident victims. Assume you like both your brother and your accountant (two different people). You grew up and played with your brother; your accountant helps you with your taxes. Now say they both were in accidents that left them paralyzed and unable to work. Now, both cease to have any function at all that would be desired by you. Yet you still at least value your brother for intrinsic properties (same blood) even though he can't play with you; and you may or may not continue a relationship with your poor, lonely, crippled accountant. So what's good about something could be both properties and function, and also change to just one or the other.

Ex6: Something that is both but changes to have value only in function would be, for example, an old valuable stamp. It used to be worth something because it enabled a person to mail a letter; now, it is valuable for its historic properties, artwork, etc.

Anyway, you can also avoid this dilemma by stretching the meaning of "function" and/or "property" so to say: it has the function of being aesthetically pleasing, or it has the property of being useful, etc., thereby blurring the distinction between the two.

Answer 3

Just like when you say, "when is something beautiful?," there is really no answer to the question... But generally, one is good when someone says it is good... When can you say it's art?? When someone says it is art... Remember that movie, "Mona Lisa's Smile?" It is fact, there would always be someone who'd say something is beautiful, or something is an art, or something is good.. But what about when someone says it is not good?? Considering that someone would also say it is good... Whatever is would be, everything is both good and not good... The properties and its functions are just the factors how people judge on when is something good... And it is also the factor how they judge these things as "not good"... Both factors are just equal...

Answer 4

Something is good when you value it. I doesn't need function or properties.

Answer 5

Neither. Something is good or bad (evil) depending on how it is used. Take for example nuclear reaitons. Its function is to produce a lot of energy. When used in nuclear reactors it is good. When used as a bomb, it is evil. Nothing is good or bad in and of itself. It becomes one or the other depending on how it is used.

Answer 6

The concept of goodness is a mental illusion that has no reality separate from your mind. Therefore, the answer is neither.

Answer 7

Things aren't "good".

Answer 8

??
Think for a minute.