Define "Good"?

Question

If there is no God, then there are no absolutes. If there are no absolutes, then there is no right from wrong. If there is no right from wrong, then there can be no good from bad. So what defines what is "good" or "bad".
You might argue that society determines it. So if society determines that murder, rape, betrayal are okay, is it really?

Answer 1

Good: morally excellent; virtuous; righteous; pious: of high quality; excellent; satisfactory in quality, quantity, or degree; right; proper; fit; well-behaved; kind; beneficent; friendly. honorable or worthy; educated and refined; financially sound and safe; genuine; reliable; dependable.......

Moral Absolutes: You said if there is no God, then there are no absolutes. Not necessarily. Heck if there is a God, there may not be any absolutes. Just because there is a God doesn't automatically mean that there are absolutes. And, perhaps some things are absolutes and other things are not absolutes.

You ask that if society determines murder, rape and betrayal to be okay, is it really? In a word: YES. Rape was, at one time, quite okay in many contexts. What is now rape (sex betw an adult and 13 year old, was 100 years ago in many places not necessarily rape). In the old testament times, a man could have his wife anytime he wanted to, regardless of what she wanted - nowadays, if she doesn't consent then it's rape. Time was that raping slaves was okay, and even killing them. Nowadays, that's not the case. Heck, slavery was once thought to be perfectly right and true, even in Christendom, and that has changed.

There are no absolutes in right or wrong. We say "killing is wrong" but is it? Killing in self-defense is not wrong. Killing in war is thought of by some as wrong and others as not wrong, and some people say it depends on what side you're on. Capital punishment is thought of as wrong by some and not by other. Whether killing is wrong clearly depends on the circumstances - if you kill by accident, is it "wrong" or "bad"? If you kill to save someone else's life, is that "wrong" or "bad"?

I hate to break it to you, but even with a God up there, there are no absolutes. "Thou shalt not make any graven images, or likenesses of anything on earth or in the air or in the sea..." I bet you have pictures and sculptures in your house. Are you "doing wrong"? Or have you decided that this commandment means to not make "idols" that you worship? Who's right - the people who say no images at all are permitted, or those that say that images are okay as long as you don't worshipt them?

What about adultery? Are you committing adultery if you get a divorce? What if your wife consents?

What about polygamy? They did it in the Bible, right? So is it wrong or bad? Or not? Does it depend on the times and society?

Think about it..... there's not one crime or sin that you can commit that there isn't a circumstance where it would be okay, or at least the best alternative. Take "betrayal" that you stated - if you swore allegiance to Hitler in 1933 thinking he was a great guy that was going to help Germany, but then in 1940 you "betrayed" him and tried to get him ousted from power - would that be wrong or bad?

Answer 2

You imply that a god would be an absolute. An absolute what?

Your book's moral code says that is okay to stone people to death. I do not think that is particularly moral or humane.

A personal moral code does not neccessarily tell people what not to do, it tends to work by telling them what they should not have done. You don't feel bad before stealing something - you feel bad after you have stolen it. So a wise person can work out morality by observing people who have broken their personal codes and observing the effects.

It is true that some people do not seem to have ANY sense of morality though, displaying no remorse. This is why we have the law, in order to constrain and if neccessary restrain these people.

Answer 3

I used to wonder why the bible had to tell its members not to kill or be adulterous, it seemed obvious that these are bad things. But if you look at it as a chronical of its times, it shows that anything bad can be made acceptable to a society. So now I see that part of the bible as a warning of what can happen -- and from those times until now it certainly has kept repeating itself. So to answer your question, yes, society can determine that the worst of human behavior is ok.

Answer 4

good is absolute.

right and wrong individual opinion.

good is universally accepted fact.

helping is right or wrong; you get millions of answers.

helping is good. only one answer.

but not helping is not bad. so bad cannot be the opposite for good.

good is good itself.

which society endorses murder, rape,betrayal are okay. all this things are punishable all over world, because it is not good to murder, rape,or betray.

but it may be right or wrong depending on the situation, and circumstances.

Answer 5

Retracing back from your answers, I will say that there is God and He is absolute. Within God there is no duality like good and bad for God is beyond all dualities. He is pure consciousness pervading the cosmos and beyond. For relative existence in the world, dualities are considered and dos and donts evolved based on ethical and moral philosophies.

Answer 6

No, society, any one society, does NOT determine what is moral or good. The definition of good is always influenced by society but it is through analysis of philosophy and culture that the good is determined.

Answer 7

Good, bad, evil, right, and wrong are preferences. The majority of people agree on these preferences, especially those people who belong to the same society. Those concepts have no intrinsic meaning, only what we attribute to them.

Answer 8

There is a verse that says "behold G-d presents before you the good and the evil, you should choose life". The sages ask, why is it says you should choose life? it should have said you should choose good, right?
The answer is that good is viewed differently by every person, you should do and choose whatever gives you life... maybe your question should be: define "life"...

Answer 9

compliment be to Allah Haraam is that for which the only that does that's going to be punished and the only that abstains from that's going to be rewarded, if the reason at the back of his abstinence is following the prohibition of Allaah. 'i think issues like " love"(charm to the choice gender) is haram too(which incorporate loving your guy or woman spouse/husband).because of fact it wil in no way benifit me interior the hereafter,because its not a sort of worship.And it makes you forget approximately Allah and hereafter.Noone is worth of having extra interest then Allah!' 2nd area of your question: You misunderstood! Islam teaches us to be uncomplicated and sensible. many times, we like because of fact of Allah and we hate because of fact of Allah. Islam teaches us that a woman and male can build up a reliable relationship in keeping with marriage. All those memories of media and flicks are actually not useful to make a individual adjust to the instructions of Islam. we don't say love is halal or haram considering the undeniable fact that's a feeling. in step with hazard this is not under administration. you could choose what's under administration. yet people who fall in love are in many episodes removed from the cleansed and organic environment. Marriages that are many times reliable and lasting marriages are human beings who initiate on the least affection. That affection grows after marriage and perhaps this is going to enhance until the couples proceed their companionship on the Jannah. And Allah is conscious the ideal! Jazakallah!

Answer 10

Good=God

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