Is Good and Bad Universal?

As a beginning note, I wish not to try to prove or disprove anything.

This has been a gnawing topic for me.

I remember a Voltaire quote (thx O'nus) "There is no good or evil, but thinking it will make it so."

First of all, I have to admit that I do live under the concepts of Good and Evil. Like, it's ideal not to rape, not to steal, and not to hurt, because I consider those evil. But still,is the spiritual aspect of good and evil necessary to explain this? Is it nothing more than a theory? Do certain actions and thoughts basically zero down just to the empathy humans feel for one another?

Thanks for the feedback on this thread.

There is only positive and negative(not thats not the same), that what makes people feel better and that what makes them feel worse. So we turn those into good and evil because we all rather feel good then bad. Truth is that both forces are neutral. And the entire cosmos runs on a balance of both of them, one cannot live without the other. But that doesnt mean we can try to generate more positive energy as there is plenty of negative energy around already :)

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Originally posted by AirRick101
Do certain actions and thoughts basically zero down just to the empathy humans feel for one another?

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Yeah I'd have to agree. Generally it comes down to the respect people have for each other.

True. But that level of respect can very ever so grately between differant people.
Is anything ihertiley bad or good until me make it so by a choice? :whyme:

So many people have differing view on what is good and evil, that it is hard to say what is what?

Though, I tend to believe somethings will fall into a grey area in between as well.

It is not my intention to prove any one theory or belief, however, i must say that the idea of good versus evil has been and always will be a focal point for new parents.

The concept of good is that of someting your mother says when you do good to another person, it is respectable, it is nice, it is socially acceptable, this defined your future and inevitably your life.

The concept of bad is that of something your father taught you, when you lie, cheat, steal or hurt your sibblings, you were punished. Some of us beaten, and others well, put in the corners.

this is not to say that we have been given a forced concept of good and evil, only an attempt at creating a human, that is acceptable in the common good. thus bad and good.

what makes a person good or evil ? since ones enviroment and ones society plays a big part in a persons makeup..... i would say we judge what is good and evil in its entirity... is terrorism evil ? or is it in balance to good terrorism ? (i would say capitalism could be seen as indirect terrorism. (class-distinction)

and as to the whole universe.... no man alive can say the entire universe is set to duality.... this universe is prime and it will end in prime. this is my view tho something to add to the pot.

If a whole generation of people were raised on the concept that pain, torture, rape, the whole stretch of 'evil', was 'good', they would believe it was 'good'.


So even if they do become masochists and sadists, they will think nothing bad of it. You whip them, they might even laugh, even though there is cleary pain. It's more of a phsycological thing and social behaviors.

I believe there is good and evil, but I believe that because that was the view I was taught. I think it is only logical to group things and actions in two groups, one that is good and one that isn't. If someone viewed everything in a neutral zone, then they wouldn't think a second thought about anything. Because everything is put into two groups, there would be good and evil in everybodies mind. But it what a person views as good or evil is based on past experiences and what they have been told. There would not be a universal set of good things and a unviersal set of evil things, it is all personally choosen. Many people will share common views because people interact and pass on past experiences.

just throwing in my opinion as well, no intent on proving:

good and evil are universal, although what, to the letter, is in fact good, and what is evil is not...the latter is societal...even in such simple things as atoms there is this good and evil, although the way it works is different than th way ours works...this is just the nature of things to have two sides...we simply have decided one side is what everyone should do, and the other is what everyone should not do...in this i respect the atoms more, in that they have learned to equally appreciate both sides

just cashing in my 2c's. In the sense that the world revolves, the words good and bad are both made up. As in they only exist because somebody says it does. So isn't the result of this = morals? In a state of ever changing situations, dosn't it then make sense to listen to yourself, not some goverment or book written 2k years ago to hear what they determine is good or bad. Good and bad often leads to problems because it can then create an us and them. Eg. terrorists = bad, bush fighting terrorism = good, while the other side is thinking the vice versa. I guess i believe O'nus as well then, putting the words on the table only creates them. "

Just imagine theres no heaven, it's easy if you try. No hell below us, above us only sky" (imagine, John Lennon) = elimination of fear = good... huh?!

Good or bad, logically (and in my opinion), are subjective and relative terms. Whatever seems right or wrong to the individual or group of people.

Killing, rape, etc. are "bad" only because of how people feel towards them - what you like or dislike. If it is the majority that define "good" and "bad" then good and bad have crossed wires before and have shared ethics at times - you could go so far as to say they work ipsilaterally.

I have not much to say about it here without accidently delving into religious ethics.

Note: "There is no good or bad, but thinking makes it so" is from Shakespeare's Hamlet. ;-)