Friday, October 28, 2005
Good and Evil
Perceptions of Good and Evil -- I
For me it is rather simple. There are good things, ideas, actions, and people in the world. There are also evil things, ideas, actions and people, and they are always with us. I was taught a morality or moral code from birth, and I hold to it even now as best I can as a human being. Today, so many of us take a relativistic view of good and evil: According to some, it depends on your point of view, the circumstances, or the time, whether an act or an idea is moral or not. In other words, to them, good and evil are relative, and there is no such thing as an absolute good or an absolute evil. Christians find that the teachings of Jesus reflect moral absolutes, as do the Ten Commandments and other related commands from god. These moral principles are taken on faith as being absolute, and are therefore an integral part of the Christian religion.
One's moral choices are exercised in the here and now and in the society in which we find ourselves. In fact, if one holds to a moral code, one practices it everywhere, with but few exceptions if any at all.
From whence do our morals and ethics come? They are embedded in our Constitution and our laws at every level; they are taught to us by our parents, relations, acquaintances and teachers as being the norms for our society almost from the first time we can understand sentences; they are taught to us by our business and social relations day-to-day; and they are taught to us by our religious faith and training, for example The Ten Commandments. Many find moral principles to abide by in their reading of literature, or in movies or television shows. (That they also witness and read about the depraved shenanigans of the amoral or immoral is also true.). The ideas of truth, honesty, justice, freedom, and liberty, are all familiar as moral concepts we hold to be good for all.
But there are hundreds more words or phrases that embody the essence of moral principles that we either honor or not. One can say that to honor and live by a moral code is good, and to live without a moral code, or to live a moral code that is opposed to the norm of one's society is evil. Evil will be punished by that society.
It is true that moral codes differ from place to place around the world, for the obvious reason that such codes are largely self-evolved by a given society, religion and culture.
Even moral principles that we in the West hold very sacred are not constant worldwide. Murder is evil to us, but to some societies, it is just fine to murder someone who has dishonored your family; an unthinkable act for most of us.
Good Moral Concepts
Truth
Honesty-- Your word is your bond.
Trust
Justice
Respect for, and Obedience of the Constitution and the Law.
Citizenship
Self-Reliance
Charity -- at Home and Abroad
Hope
Faith
Religious Precepts –Christian Morals; The Ten Commandments
Especially: Thou Shalt Not Murder (as opposed to thou shalt not kill.)
Being Pro-Life (not to murder babies in the womb!)
Just War – which allows for killing in the line of duty, or in dire necessity for survival.
Respect for Other Religions (that do not harm us, or threaten us)
Honor
Duty
Freedoms – speech, association, movement, ownership, against search and seizure.
Equality Before the Law
Respect for Individuals (without regard for their race, color, creed, sex, or whatever)
Respect for Opinions of Others (whether you agree with them or not!)(not easy to do!)
Ability to sort out the Good from the Evil
Respect for Property Rights-- Ownership
Respect for Marriage as an Institution
Respect for Family and Family History, Ancestors (but not ancestor worship!)
To Provide for Family
Respect the Rights of Man (as is said: the “unalienable rights”)
Belief in Community, American Style; Neighborliness
Belief in City, County, State, Nation (as they are, and as they evolve)
Community of Nations (that are peaceful, friendly, and nonthreatening)
Allegiances to: home and family, community, city, county, state, nation, organizations
The Golden Rule – “Do unto others as you would have them do to you”
The Survival Rule -- If absolutely necessary: “Do unto others before they do unto you!”
Kindness
Courteousness
Friendly
Sociable
Repute
Humility
Taste, Manners and Etiquette
Courage
To Defend the Constitution
To Enjoy Life's Pleasures
Happiness in Outlook and Disposition
To Satisfy Incurred Obligations
Common Sense
Reason
Virtues
Knowledge ( especially of the good, yet to be able to recognize the evil too.)
Self-Fulfillment
Experiences and Lessons of Life, Broadening of Outlook
Advancement of Science
Proper Education ( not easy to achieve today, it seems!)
Moderation in All Things (not easy, either)
Health
Ability to Earn (and keep most of what you earn!)
Things that Give Pleasure: Books, Movies, TV, Sports Gear, Dancing, and so on...
Actions that Give Pleasure (but not vices, sins or illegal or hurtful to others)
Small Government
Low Taxes
The Bad and the Evil
Every one of these concepts of what is good and moral has its diametric opposite which is most certainly either unfortunate, bad, if not actually evil to man, in the sense that its opposite does great harm.
Instead of making it easy for others to see the opposites, I will leave it as a simple challenge to readers to define them from the opposites above.
Neutral Ideas and Things
Are there concepts, actions, relations or things that are neutral, in that they are neither good nor bad, but simply ARE? Of course there are such! To list a few things:
The Universe: galaxies, stars, planets, dark matter, comets, asteroids, black holes, space, time, physics and physical laws (as yet discovered by man or not), and the microcosm as well; concepts we have named molecules, atoms, particles, waves, forces, transformations, membranes, and so on, and the apparent laws these things follow.
(To be continued)
Perceptions of Good and Evil -- I
For me it is rather simple. There are good things, ideas, actions, and people in the world. There are also evil things, ideas, actions and people, and they are always with us. I was taught a morality or moral code from birth, and I hold to it even now as best I can as a human being. Today, so many of us take a relativistic view of good and evil: According to some, it depends on your point of view, the circumstances, or the time, whether an act or an idea is moral or not. In other words, to them, good and evil are relative, and there is no such thing as an absolute good or an absolute evil. Christians find that the teachings of Jesus reflect moral absolutes, as do the Ten Commandments and other related commands from god. These moral principles are taken on faith as being absolute, and are therefore an integral part of the Christian religion.
One's moral choices are exercised in the here and now and in the society in which we find ourselves. In fact, if one holds to a moral code, one practices it everywhere, with but few exceptions if any at all.
From whence do our morals and ethics come? They are embedded in our Constitution and our laws at every level; they are taught to us by our parents, relations, acquaintances and teachers as being the norms for our society almost from the first time we can understand sentences; they are taught to us by our business and social relations day-to-day; and they are taught to us by our religious faith and training, for example The Ten Commandments. Many find moral principles to abide by in their reading of literature, or in movies or television shows. (That they also witness and read about the depraved shenanigans of the amoral or immoral is also true.). The ideas of truth, honesty, justice, freedom, and liberty, are all familiar as moral concepts we hold to be good for all.
But there are hundreds more words or phrases that embody the essence of moral principles that we either honor or not. One can say that to honor and live by a moral code is good, and to live without a moral code, or to live a moral code that is opposed to the norm of one's society is evil. Evil will be punished by that society.
It is true that moral codes differ from place to place around the world, for the obvious reason that such codes are largely self-evolved by a given society, religion and culture.
Even moral principles that we in the West hold very sacred are not constant worldwide. Murder is evil to us, but to some societies, it is just fine to murder someone who has dishonored your family; an unthinkable act for most of us.
Good Moral Concepts
Truth
Honesty-- Your word is your bond.
Trust
Justice
Respect for, and Obedience of the Constitution and the Law.
Citizenship
Self-Reliance
Charity -- at Home and Abroad
Hope
Faith
Religious Precepts –Christian Morals; The Ten Commandments
Especially: Thou Shalt Not Murder (as opposed to thou shalt not kill.)
Being Pro-Life (not to murder babies in the womb!)
Just War – which allows for killing in the line of duty, or in dire necessity for survival.
Respect for Other Religions (that do not harm us, or threaten us)
Honor
Duty
Freedoms – speech, association, movement, ownership, against search and seizure.
Equality Before the Law
Respect for Individuals (without regard for their race, color, creed, sex, or whatever)
Respect for Opinions of Others (whether you agree with them or not!)(not easy to do!)
Ability to sort out the Good from the Evil
Respect for Property Rights-- Ownership
Respect for Marriage as an Institution
Respect for Family and Family History, Ancestors (but not ancestor worship!)
To Provide for Family
Respect the Rights of Man (as is said: the “unalienable rights”)
Belief in Community, American Style; Neighborliness
Belief in City, County, State, Nation (as they are, and as they evolve)
Community of Nations (that are peaceful, friendly, and nonthreatening)
Allegiances to: home and family, community, city, county, state, nation, organizations
The Golden Rule – “Do unto others as you would have them do to you”
The Survival Rule -- If absolutely necessary: “Do unto others before they do unto you!”
Kindness
Courteousness
Friendly
Sociable
Repute
Humility
Taste, Manners and Etiquette
Courage
To Defend the Constitution
To Enjoy Life's Pleasures
Happiness in Outlook and Disposition
To Satisfy Incurred Obligations
Common Sense
Reason
Virtues
Knowledge ( especially of the good, yet to be able to recognize the evil too.)
Self-Fulfillment
Experiences and Lessons of Life, Broadening of Outlook
Advancement of Science
Proper Education ( not easy to achieve today, it seems!)
Moderation in All Things (not easy, either)
Health
Ability to Earn (and keep most of what you earn!)
Things that Give Pleasure: Books, Movies, TV, Sports Gear, Dancing, and so on...
Actions that Give Pleasure (but not vices, sins or illegal or hurtful to others)
Small Government
Low Taxes
The Bad and the Evil
Every one of these concepts of what is good and moral has its diametric opposite which is most certainly either unfortunate, bad, if not actually evil to man, in the sense that its opposite does great harm.
Instead of making it easy for others to see the opposites, I will leave it as a simple challenge to readers to define them from the opposites above.
Neutral Ideas and Things
Are there concepts, actions, relations or things that are neutral, in that they are neither good nor bad, but simply ARE? Of course there are such! To list a few things:
The Universe: galaxies, stars, planets, dark matter, comets, asteroids, black holes, space, time, physics and physical laws (as yet discovered by man or not), and the microcosm as well; concepts we have named molecules, atoms, particles, waves, forces, transformations, membranes, and so on, and the apparent laws these things follow.
(To be continued)
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