Throughout time there has always stood the difficult task of defining what is good and what is evil. To those religiously affiliated, the answer that God is good and the Devil is evil suffices. To philosophers this circular logic is derisory. I have come up with various thoughts; however, the following seems to be my best argument:
Good is that which directly or indirectly contributes to obtaining an objective. By this definition, it means that to a Bank Guard a gun is good because it helps him do his job of protecting the bank. It also means that to a bank robber, a gun is good, and shooting the guard first helps the robber steal the money. How is it that two opposing forces see the same thing as good? In this grand universe, what is the ultimate objective? I call it the Divine Objective. Using this definition, that which contributes to obtaining the divine objective is ultimately the good, or the "divine good." The opposite would also hold true in that there would be a Divine Evil. Even so, what is the Divine Objective I have argued many times that it is happiness however, it seems that this answer makes many devout people of faith uncomfortable. I cannot imagine any other answer to be superior. What is greater than happiness? I am confident that even the best alternative answers offered would still only be an ingredient necessary to this end. If there is no joy in what we do and ultimately what God does then certainly we are already doomed. So again, I submit to anyone: what is greater than happiness?
No comments:
Post a Comment