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Question: What if your "good" or your "happiness" is considered evil to most people!?
What if killing someone makes you happy!? What if stealing makes you happy!? what if being "evil" makes you happy!? Does that mean the actions of that individual is "good" in there life!? Is "good" something you can label for everyone!?
I obviously know it could possibly mean they are a psychopath, but even if they are, for that particular person, could there "good" be killing someone if that makes them happy!?
so, how can we as humans judge what is "good"!?
serious answers please!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:
I find this relativist mindset very troubling!. Using an emotion to morally judge a situation makes as much sense as using intuition to answer a multiple choice question!. But the idea is permeated out there that the emotional habits people acquire from their culture is a good measure for "morality"!.
What this idea really states is that there is NO morality to be had at all (nihilism)!. There's is nothing, therefore, that is preferable to any other thing!. The contention being that culture is accidental, and whatever you grew up thinking of as good, or whatever makes you happy could have just as easily been something else!.
This is true, if culture were the sum of it all!. But why is it that, in spite of our cultural differences, we end up so similar!? What is philosophy and science but an attempt to affirm that which is common to us all, and which can be had by all!?
The truth lies in what exists beyond our veils of culture: our very own human nature (rational, social animal), which is the same for us all!. And with a shared objective nature, comes a shared objective morality!.
Again, it's true that our culture could be something else (though not anything), and our emotions and preferences could be something else (thought not anything), but our preferences and habits do not determine our nature!.
Our morals stem from this nature, which binds us, and right and wrong (good and bad) refer to that which goes in accord with our nature or against it!. It's the value awarded to our natural condition against the perils facing it's conservation!.
The first and most important characteristic of our nature is life, which is the reason why our morals universally support it's preservation!. This is why murder is wrong!. The reason life is so important it's because it's the first objective value, from which other values derive!. With life, and specifically human life, come other characteristics, such as autonomy!. It's just part of our nature, and this is why freedom, morally, is universally defended (and why violating the moral rights of another is just as bad as having your own violated)!. Another characteristic of human life is productivity, or the means to self-preservation!. This makes it morally reprehensible to violate an individual's right to property, or the product of his efforts to preserve his own life, by theft, or usurpation!.
It doesn't matter what people prefer or believe, our morals are a matter of fact, and they can be derived by a rational assessment of our nature as human beings, and our situation as living beings!.
It's not just wrong to kill because your parents, gods, customs or momentary preferences tell you it is, but because our autonomous human nature, is impeded by that act!. A thing of actual objective value is wasted or violated!.
To conclude, you can judge what is "good" by determining whether it violates the objective values of human nature!. Of these, several are obvious, such as: life, freedom, property, rationality, honesty (social value), etc!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
If "good" is equated with "whatever makes me happy at this particular moment, regardless of the consequences," that person is going to be a very, very bad person when they wind up in a solitary cell!.
We judge what is "good" against some standard!. Most moral issues involve either a disagreement on the standard, or a disagreement about how to apply the standard to a particular situation!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
Wolf good is rabbit evil!.
Life is trying to collect food/energy & reproduce!.
Anything that helps this is good!. Anything that interferes is evil!.
For every meal you've had, something had to die!.
All those good meals were evil to something else!.
Every person you've desired was probably desired by someone else!.
It's good when you get your hearts desire, but every victory you've had was a loss to someone else!.
How can we as humans judge what is "good"!?
My friend, that is the reason you HAVE a mind, to determine what is good for you and your people!.
The wolf is happy when it kills the rabbit!. The rabbit thinks the wolf is evil!. Whose right!? They both are, at least from their own perspectives!.
Life is a competition!. We form teams to help us survive!.
The psychopath & the theif are not evil to themselves, killing & stealing after all are fun and profitable!. The point is they aren't on your team, and THAT makes them evil, at least from your perspective!.
Life is about deciding if you want to be Predator or Prey!. If you put up with theives & psychopaths, you are Prey!. Kill them & you are the Predator!.
And that is good!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
we all have our own realities!. and as you said you may be considered a psycopath, however if killing someone makes them happy then it is "good" in their eyes!.
nevertheless the world has a basic/broad standard on what is considered "good "
we can jundge what is good for the simple fact that we judge everything anyway!. everything is about perception!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
Happiness and goodness obviously can't be measured on the same scale!. I think the line between good and bad is harming people, including yourself!. I was going to say harming another person but then I thought of self harm!. Maybe when happiness crosses over the good and bad line of harming a person is when a person is mentally unstable!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
You're a little HIGH about asking-----thing is this you trap a person to answer you! Well, good enough, since, that's why we're here!. To answer you sincerely, I say, we don't have to kill someone or we don't have to steal anything from anyone to be HAPPY!. Happiness comes as usually! But I do admit that someone does the same as you expressed! Thank you anywayWww@QuestionHome@Com
Evil always entails suffering!. Suffering people aren't happy!.
Evil is a low realm of consciousness, where suffering dominates!. Guilt accompanies evil and it's an utterly miserable condition!.
Actual goodness leads to the end of suffering!. This is expressed well in Buddha's teachings!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
if "happiness" means stepping on people's lives!.!.then it's definitely evil!
besides there are rules made by god on how to live our lives!.!.!.!.!.so to answer your question!.!.!.we judge based on what we see as normal and acceptable to god * even if some people don't believe in god nor religion!.!.!.they would naturally know what's good, unless they deny their heart!"
~peace~Www@QuestionHome@Com
I dont see too many people here is this country unhappy with what is happening to the Iraquies or anyone else in this world that has pretty much had it with us and our need for their energetics and other national products!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
According to utilitarianism, "Good" is what brings happiness to the most amount of individuals possible, not only one!Www@QuestionHome@Com
Doing no harm to others [ humans and animals ] !. This is a good prerequisite to being good !.Www@QuestionHome@Com
One you are irrational or
two they are irrational!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
one person's terrorist is another person's freedom fighter
"theres no such thing as right or wrong: only that we think so"Www@QuestionHome@Com
being humanely happy means to release internal tension!. Being unhappy means to hold internal tension!.!.!.How internal tension appear within at first place!? do we really know!? Why internal mechanism of release suddenly works inapropriately or stopped to work at all!? There is those whom killing themselves, not others, being unable to release, for tension is so huge ,something which cannot be ignored as a motive to kill , yet ignored for sake of limited human judgment!.!.Can we be sure that our judgment is an ultimate truth!?!?!?May be we are judging our own ignorance!? Why psychopaths become psychopaths!? Do we really sure that it is their fault!? May be not!?!.!.!.Unfortunately killing for sake of release does not relief anything but rather adding to internal tension some another bit of pressure, but can we judge those whom does not know it and trying to find a release over and over again not being aware that there will not be any help!.!.we are being ignorant unable to help taking another extreme and out of our fear trying to do the same !.!.!.to kill those!.!.!. thus,joining the club of psychopathy!.!.!.!.and, as well as those mentioned, justifying "meaningfully" our right claiming the state of righteousness!. This is illness at first place!.Mental one!.Global one!.!.!. not just for those with broken mechanisms!.,We are ,judges,attempting to relief ourselves by kiling those mentioned, but number of psychopaths is not decreasing!.!.!. somehow it grows!.!.!.in many areas in many forms!.!.!.Instead to acknowledge and understand that simple fact we pretending to be blind!.Why!? what we are going to do if whole club will be collapsed and disappear!. Whom to judge then!? If there is no psychopaths we will create them again and again!.!.!.actually that all we do with our ability to think and judge !.!.!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
It's a little problematic to equate happiness with good!. What makes an individual happy is not necessarily something that is good for them or for others!. The specific extreme that you use for an example is also an issue because those people who are driven to kill or steal are doing it because of compulsion rather than a more generic and benign desire or enjoyment!.
On the other hand, the point you raise is legitimate!. "Good" implies an objective perspective on a given issue, but there is no such thing as objectivity!. People bring their own subjective outlooks to any issue, so it is not possible to absolutely define "good" or "evil!."
Indeed, relying on a moral standard to define these terms is really just a crutch, or a delusion we employ to avoid the existential reality of our situation!. We all have the ability to do pretty much whatever we want, and good vs!. evil are not legitimate considerations in our decisions!.
That being the case, however, there is still the issue of individual freedom!. You (or anyone) have the freedom to act in any way you please; but at the same time, everyone else has the power to respond to your action in any way they please!. Those are the consequences of your action!.
If you are willing to accept these consequences, there is nothing to prevent you from acting strictly according to your own will, especially not other people's notions of "good" or "evil"!.Www@QuestionHome@Com