Redefining Good & Evil

[Nogrod]

I'm in a hurry as well but just couldn't help commenting on this one.

Originally Posted by Pitchwife

Sorry for philosophical nitpicking, but this is a perfect example of thought stumbling into the pitfalls of language. Just because 'good' can be used as a noun in most European languages, we tend to think of it as a thing or entity of some sort that 'exists' and, because it exists, must be 'made' by somebody; but good is nothing that exists, its just what we do - and so is evil.

Exactly! There is also the way we tend to "ontologize" linguistic / conceptual differentiations (the difference between these two would call for a dissertation - many of which have been made already, beginning at least from the middle-ages).

Like we talk of different species of animals. But are there really "species" in the world in itself or are species just a way we conseptualise / talk about the variety of animals we find around us?

I'd be careful with saying that "good" (or "bad" to that matter) is something that exists as such in the universe, but I would say - following Pitchwife - that good is something we do and which defines us as human beings as a behaviour...

[Gwathagor]

Originally Posted by Nogrod

There is also the way we tend to "ontologize" linguistic / conceptual differentiations (the difference between these two would call for a dissertation - many of which have been made already, beginning at least from the middle-ages).

Like we talk of different species of animals. But are there really "species" in the world in itself or are species just a way we conseptualise / talk about the variety of animals we find around us?

I'd be careful with saying that "good" (or "bad" to that matter) is something that exists as such in the universe, but I would say - following Pitchwife - that good is something we do and which defines us as human beings as a behaviour...

I really should go to bed, but I'd better have a go at this anyway.

If we should be careful of saying that good or bad are things that exist in and of themselves, then we should be equally careful of saying that good and bad are nothing more than terms developed to indicate certain patterns of behavior. Both are ditches that lie on opposite sides of the road. Plato found his way into the first ditch, where the only real thing was the ultimate good (i.e. the Forms). The other ditch is just as bad, where the term "good" has been stripped of all vestiges of permanence or transcendence.

As always, truth lies at the point of balance between extremes.

And now I really have to go to bed, though there is a lot more I should say.