I'm asking this from a philosophical point of view. This was something that was said at the end of a show I watched. It was on an episode of Star Trek DS9 called "The Darkness And The Light".
It is about revenge, the innocent,and the difference between right and wrong.
The bad guy was an innocent bystander of a bombing who was scarred for life over what happened to him. He was going to take the soldier's unborn baby and teach it right from wrong and raise it in a way he thought was right. In his own words "seperate the light from the dark". In the end he failed taking the innocent baby and the soldier said "What he didn't realize...is the light only shines in the dark... and sometimes innocents is just an excuse for the guilty".
What was the meaning of that line? I was a bit puzzled by it when heard it.
2007-11-24 21:22:51 · 12 answers · asked by Hon its'ten 3 in Arts & Humanities ➔ Philosophy
Those quotes are about guilt and innocence and how the two are distinguished from one another.
It might help if we re-phrase them a bit. For example, instead of "the light only shines in the dark" we might say "it is in dark times when the lights stand out" or "it's when things go bad that we see who is good".
And that's easy to see - how do you know who is helpful until there is someone who NEEDS help? When bad things happen, good people have a chance to shine. They help protect Jews from the Nazis, or maybe they just help a stranded motorist push his car off the road. Unless you have the dark, you won't see the light.
The solder turning the quote around is meant to demonstrate the opposite as well. Since the good people stand out in the dark, the bad people are ALSO distinguished. They claim innocence - "it's not my problem", "I'm too busy", or "I don't know how to help" - and use it as an excuse to let the evil persist. I am reminded of one of my favourite quotes, which would be a good way to re-phrase this part:
"All that is necessary for evil to triumph is that good men do nothing."
- Edmund Burke
2007-11-25 04:31:40 · answer #1 · answered by Doctor Why 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
About the light only shining in the dark, I'm pretty sure that would mean that you can't recognize what is good and right without also having what is bad and wrong.
I'm sure if there was no 'evil' in the world, we probably wouldn't even know we were all being 'good' in the first place.
In the same way, if there were no darkness, how would we recognize light?
And innocence being an excuse for the guilty; I think they probably meant something like "being wronged by others is no excuse for wronging others".
Just because you were innocent and punished anyway, doesn't mean you have the right to punish others who are also innocent (in the context in the episode, I'm sure he meant the baby) to take revenge.
2007-11-24 21:32:38 · answer #2 · answered by Barako 1 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Look at the world and you can draw 1 of 2 conclusions based on the fact that some do resist G-D.. 1. G-D has predetermined everything and He intentionally with holds his grace from most people and damns them to Hell. 2. Man has been given free will and G-D lovingly accepts those who turn to his son, but does not force it on anyone. There you go, Pick one.
2016-05-25 07:28:41 · answer #3 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Light can only shine or be seen in the dark because dark is really the absence of Light. Just like there really is no such thing as cold, rather lack of heat.
2007-11-25 06:38:10 · answer #4 · answered by Just Be 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Darkness is the absence of light. They were just playin' with you. At this level of experience, life, all experience is only possible because of polarity and this writer was playing with the polarity concept. Having said that, you can impute any value you like to the script he wrote. Really. It can mean anything you want it to. You are the authority in your life.
2007-11-25 13:48:38 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Don't be silly.
Light can only shine in the dark because the light shines in the dark.
Now, for example, if the dark could shine on the brightness of light -
Well; me thinks you get the point.
2007-11-24 21:32:50 · answer #6 · answered by Temple 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
A matter of contrast; light, dark, good, evil, innocence, guilt;
One is not perceived without the other.
2007-11-24 23:10:05 · answer #7 · answered by thrag 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
frm in eighth grader's point of view (thats sorta philisophical)...i think that the light onli shines in the dark because that is wen we need it the most....wen there is alreadi light being shown, there is happiness...nd wen there is darkness,we recognize the lite the most :]....nd wen ur a teen,u see the dark quite often,so wenever u get that light,u shuldnt take advantage of it =]
2007-11-24 21:39:51 · answer #8 · answered by TheRebel 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
heres a star
its like when there is a lot ppl doing bad and 1 person does the opposite, thats the light
if they were all doing good they'd be no point in shining.
2007-11-25 08:01:31 · answer #9 · answered by brenda 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
it means that we live in a world of opposites, and nothing has meaning without its opposite pair. it's not a new idea, but there is no pain without pleasure, no up without down, no good without evil.
if all was good and light, we wouldn't notice it. we only see the light in contrast to the dark.
2007-11-27 04:52:20 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋