Good and Bad

RBS

Been busy with life and all but there are times that I wished I had nothing else and be on this forum day and night and explore on the amazing topics that amazing people posts here. There is so much knowledge that if one truly follows am sure will enrich all their senses. Forgive my broken language and lack of proper grammar style.

I have been thinking about Good and Bad actions, deeds, thoughts, idea and so on, no matter of form and shape and size through my life as am sure we all have. Though it's somewhat related to the nature of humans and of their actions and thoughts but yet again I am more interested in finding the reason behind these two characteristics.
What are the reasons of them being good and bad?
How do we distinguish one from other?
What if one is different to other from what others sees them. Is there a general acceptable principle for this, or it simply traces back to each individual?
If it is related to each individual then not all goods are good and not all bads are bad. If there is a general accepted term, then who is the author? If it's us meaning human beings then am sure it's not fully accepted to each and each one of us.

Jack Cummins

↪RBS

It seems that you are trying to see actions as 'good' and 'bad' and even if there are objective moral systems, it is likely that good and bad are own subjective interpretations of these. This could include our understanding morality but, also, our feelings about practical aspects of how a certain approach has certain effects in the world. It appear to me that we are the authors of our own understanding of what is good and bad, based on our own knowledge and experience. However, in many circumstances, it is not always that easy to divide into a distinction between the good and the bad because many actions can be seen as having a complex interplay of both.

Tom Storm

What are the reasons of them being good and bad? — RBS

You will find millions of words on this subject under 'ethics' or 'morality'.

People do not agree on good or bad and probably never will. There are too many variables and influences. However, if you are a religious fundamentalist certainty on these ideas may seem more likely. Under the divine command theory, bad is anything God commands us not to do.

Determining good from bad, right from wrong generally follows social, cultural or religious lines. Working out what is right from what is wrong may also be context dependent. It may be ok to lie, steal or murder during a time of dangerous conflict - if it helps you to survive. Unless you are Kant... but let's not go there.

These days, with increasing secularism, an action is generally seen as bad if it causes harm. It is considered good is if it promotes wellbeing. Naturally how you measure this and who gets to define harm or wellbeing is fraught. It is not an exact science. But what is?

Nikolas

I have been thinking about Good and Bad actions, deeds, thoughts, idea and so on, no matter of form and shape and size through my life as am sure we all have. Though it's somewhat related to the nature of humans and of their actions and thoughts but yet again I am more interested in finding the reason behind these two characteristics.
What are the reasons of them being good and bad?
How do we distinguish one from other?
What if one is different to other from what others sees them. Is there a general acceptable principle for this, or it simply traces back to each individual?
If it is related to each individual then not all goods are good and not all bads are bad. If there is a general accepted term, then who is the author? If it's us meaning human beings then am sure it's not fully accepted to each and each one of us. — RBS

Do you refer to objective good and evil as alluded to in Genesis 1 with the tree of the knowledge of good and evil 0r objective conceptions of good and evil conditioned on individuals by society?

Simone Weil wrote 75 years ago: “Nothing is so beautiful and wonderful, nothing is so continually fresh and surprising, so full of sweet and perpetual ecstasy, as the good. No desert is so dreary, monotonous, and boring as evil. This is the truth about authentic good and evil. With fictional good and evil it is the other way round. Fictional good is boring and flat, whole fictional evil is varied and intriguing, attractive, profound, and full of charm.”

I have to admit that haven't experienced objective good yet so don't know what it is. Evil is too "varied and intriguing, attractive, profound, and full of charm.” to allow the good to enter[/i]

javi2541997

What are the reasons of them being good and bad?
How do we distinguish one from other? — RBS

I guess to try to answer this complex question it depends a lot of your knowledge in ethics. "good" and "bad" are terms which fluctuate a lot along the decades. For example: in 1900 the women didn't have right to vote in the elections. Now, this is consider "bad" but back in those days were "good" and accepted. But not necessarily, there were always been a lot of people who despite the circumstances they tried to redifine the concepts of good/bad with the objective of establishing an equilibrium.

If it is related to each individual then not all goods are good and not all bads are bad. — RBS

You perfectly nailed it here. Nevertheless I guess there are general terms that are consider bad for the normal people. For example, killing each other, making wars and animal abuse. I think if someone interpret these actions actions as good they are just illness.
But the complexity comes when we are speaking about more abstract/dilemma terms. Is it good steal money from a corrupt politician? Or is it bad because I would act the same way as the corrupt one? Hmm...
Sometimes the narrow line between good and bad is free to interpret.

180 Proof

↪RBS

re: Agency-focused ethics (as I understand it)

• Inputs = judgments, actions/responses, practices, relationships (conduct)
• Outputs = habits, skills, capabilities (character)
• Good = optimal (adaptive)
• Bad = suboptimal (maladaptive)

Right^ inputs <—(probably)—>> Good outputs
Wrong^^ inputs <—(probably)—>> Bad outputs

(^Just / ^^Unjust re: norms, rules, laws, ...
policies (status quo))

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