It'a all based upon perspective. "Good" (as well as "Evil") is a relative term.
Hitler believed what he was doing was for the good of Germany... just as Bin Laden believes he is doing good for the greater good of Islam and President George W. Bush believes he is doing good for our nation.
Is it true? I guess it all depends on who you ask. For example, ask a German citizen in 1936... before the war and the Holocaust... and I believe it would be more than likely that, to them, Germany was improving under Hitler. Employment, technological advancement, National Pride... are these things considered to be 'Good'?
Allen Fieldhouse, home of the 2008 NCAA men's Basketball Champions! Go Jayhawks!
Hail, Hail!!!
we are inherently in it to do what helps us survive. If it means clubbing some dude for his dino-meat than we did it, if it means helping someone in our tribal community we did it. I think we have an urge to do good over evil, but it is nurtured, not natual. What is one of the first things a baby lears to do while interacting with others...hit them.
evil is a construct.
was there any differentiation between good and evil before religion? my thinking is that all things that are deemed evil are just natural instincts. instincts that are suppressed by a society that feels we are above such things. above all the other animals that inhabit the earth. that somehow we are able to control these things. and that in doing so, we are able to elevate ourselves above the animals. evil needs a morality to sustain and 'justify' it. is that morality an absolute? maybe. personally i doubt it. but maybe tis also subjective. what do you all think?
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You're right... I think it all depends upon your point of view and what you define as Good and Evil. Even the days before religion... if you killed a neighboring tribe that was cutting in on the limited resources of the environment... are you good for protecting your people... or evil for killing them? I'm guessing they had some sort of 'law' or 'rule' that stealing or killing your neighbor was bad... How did they percieve Good versus Evil? It all depends upon where you are, I suppose.
As humans, we define what is good behaviour and what is bad. That's how we can universally justify killing and condemn murder. For example, the guy who walks on a bus in Tel Aviv and sets off a bomb in his backpack is seen by us as an evil murderer. To the people who believe that the people on the bus are the enemy, he is seen as a hero. On the other hand, we see nothing wrong with our Air Force pilots cutting loose a 500 pound bomb on a house from 2,000 feet while the people living next door to the target see us as the evil ones.
When you toss religion in the mix... it gets worse. Everyone claims God in on their side, therefore, their side is good and the other side must be Evil. Good never fights Good. I think that morality in society existed before religion... religion didn't invent morality.
Allen Fieldhouse, home of the 2008 NCAA men's Basketball Champions! Go Jayhawks!
Hail, Hail!!!
What we truly inherently are, at our core, is far beyond "good". Good is one side of the coin with "bad" on the other side. The whole of the coin is beyond either good or bad. Good and bad are constructs of our human judgment. Such ideas are the tip of the iceberg of who we truly are.
Those who have touched base with our ground state or our natural essence have described it as being a state of pure Love. The reason for this is that it's so stunning, and amazing--attuning with who we truly are as the whole and not just the tip that we commonly take to be ourselves. When we exist in pure Union and the experience of being Whole, this experience is beyond all human constructs that have opposites. This experience is one of unexplainable joy and peace--a peace that passeth all understanding. Because this attunement is where our most peak experiences stem from, and because such experiences entail such abiding love and peace, our true nature is associated with being "good" or being "love". Even when our true being is far beyond such definitions and limits. Truth can be mapped and discussed for communication purposes. However it cannot actually be defined or limited by words/explanations, because when we define or limit it, it is no longer the Truth.
i think in the realms of science and reality... there are only two black and white figures by which we all live. right and wrong. everything else are theories and ideas. now your explanation of truth... i think it's important for us to be able to communicate and express it not only verbally but physically. put it this way... truth is like a pie... we all can get a piece of it but never the whole thing. it's a sad thing but ideally we'll always be limited and that includes "Love and Truth". it's not that we limit truth.... we only have a glimpse of it. like a poet once said, "this is the world as best as i can remember it." that's how it is for me and for you too and for everyone. i lived in a certain part of the world and from what i see i can explain to you certain concepts of life. just like you can open my mind to other concepts.
science will advance and will further understand that there is still more yet to understand. sounds cliche... but chances are very likely that that's how it will be. in 10,000 years from now i bet they'll still be asking the same questions we all have. and they'll have their faith to attribute their feelings to that sense or that "good" feeling that you speak about.
cause what we "truly" are is a matter of belief.
This isn't the land of opportunity, it's the land of competition.
Comments
Hitler believed what he was doing was for the good of Germany... just as Bin Laden believes he is doing good for the greater good of Islam and President George W. Bush believes he is doing good for our nation.
Is it true? I guess it all depends on who you ask. For example, ask a German citizen in 1936... before the war and the Holocaust... and I believe it would be more than likely that, to them, Germany was improving under Hitler. Employment, technological advancement, National Pride... are these things considered to be 'Good'?
Hail, Hail!!!
JEFFREY ROSS ROGERS 1975-2002
9.10.98 NYC / 8.23.00 JONES BEACH /4.30.03 UNIONDALE / 7.9.03 NYC /5.12.06 ALBANY/ 6.1.06 E.RUTHEFORD/ 6.3.06 E. RUTHEFORD/ CAMDEN 6.19.08/ NYC 6.24.08/ NYC 6.25.08/ HARTFORD 6.27.08/ CHICAGO 8.24.09/ PHILLY 10.31.09/ HARTFORD 5.15.10/ NEWARK 5.18.10/ NYC 5.20.10/ CHICAGO 7.19.13/ BROOKLYN 10.18.13/ BROOKLYN 10.19.13/ HARTFORD 10.25.13/ NYC 9.26.15/ 4.8.16 FT. LAUDERDALE/ 4.9.16 MIAMI / 5.1.16 NYC/ 5.2.16 NYC / 8.5.16 BOSTON / 8.7.16 BOSTON/ 8.20.18 CHICAGO/ 9.2.18 BOSTON/ 9.4.18 BOSTON/ 9.18.21 ASBURY PARK
finally, FUCK TICKETMASTER
we are inherently in it to do what helps us survive. If it means clubbing some dude for his dino-meat than we did it, if it means helping someone in our tribal community we did it. I think we have an urge to do good over evil, but it is nurtured, not natual. What is one of the first things a baby lears to do while interacting with others...hit them.
Survival and needs always come first
You're right... I think it all depends upon your point of view and what you define as Good and Evil. Even the days before religion... if you killed a neighboring tribe that was cutting in on the limited resources of the environment... are you good for protecting your people... or evil for killing them? I'm guessing they had some sort of 'law' or 'rule' that stealing or killing your neighbor was bad... How did they percieve Good versus Evil? It all depends upon where you are, I suppose.
As humans, we define what is good behaviour and what is bad. That's how we can universally justify killing and condemn murder. For example, the guy who walks on a bus in Tel Aviv and sets off a bomb in his backpack is seen by us as an evil murderer. To the people who believe that the people on the bus are the enemy, he is seen as a hero. On the other hand, we see nothing wrong with our Air Force pilots cutting loose a 500 pound bomb on a house from 2,000 feet while the people living next door to the target see us as the evil ones.
When you toss religion in the mix... it gets worse. Everyone claims God in on their side, therefore, their side is good and the other side must be Evil. Good never fights Good. I think that morality in society existed before religion... religion didn't invent morality.
Hail, Hail!!!
science will advance and will further understand that there is still more yet to understand. sounds cliche... but chances are very likely that that's how it will be. in 10,000 years from now i bet they'll still be asking the same questions we all have. and they'll have their faith to attribute their feelings to that sense or that "good" feeling that you speak about.
cause what we "truly" are is a matter of belief.