Is anything good or bad?

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Permalink Reply by Methis on July 7, 2009 at 9:56am

Of course I have values. But although I would personally consider my values as "good" values, I know most people will not (initially) agree with me, therefore we can establish they are not absolutely good, nor bad/evil, for that matter. After all, if they were, wouldn't everyone simply have the same values?
Morality is extremely subjective, possibly more than anything. I also think many people hold "false" morals, as to not be rejected by the community, pretending not to hold prejudice or judgement, or even covering up for it subconsciously. It seems that nowadays, a lot of people are more afraid of being considered to be discriminating or such, than making poor decisions.
As a result, I question nearly every decision made that could directly affect me, by others but also by myself.
It probably helps that I was raised in an environment in which self-awareness and mindfulness have been implicitly encouraged (Buddhist father) and I've been fairly quiet, observing people for as long as I can remember. Both a blessing and a burden, but either way pretty interesting processes to follow and recognise flaws in.

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Permalink Reply by Anette on July 9, 2009 at 4:54am

I think I put Good and Bad into these categories.

Good - That which enhances an individuals or a groups growth and quality of life
Bad - That which detracts from an individual or groups growth or quality of life.

The problem isn't wether or not that we can have "good" as a goal(however you define it), it is that we cannot ever claim to know exactly what IS good.

It may be "good" for the planet that human life ends, but it's bad for us.

Life, is a matter of trial and error. There are no absolutes in terms of Good or Bad. But, since we have a choice to make regardless of what we know, we still are required to make that choice(no fence sitting exists in this equation).

So, yes I think Good as a concept exists and we should strive for it, alway's change our definitions and our understandings of what it means for us.

No need to be "absolutely" certain of anything. We are still presented with a choice, so denying that good or bad exists even in an abstract sense, is to live under an illusion that we simply do not have a choice.

Ie we are just machines. I don't think we are :)

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