2012-04-20, 12:43 PM
I'm sure this isn't the most in depth response for that question, nor the only response that there should be for this particular topic; but here's my take on things. Also, I have not read aforementioned book.
Good and Evil are all relative. There is no such thing as inherent evil, nor is there such a thing as inherit good. We are born with the simple instinct of self-preservation; which can be viewed by some as greed, and by others as something completely natural for living things. Attributes like this "greed" can be taken to the excess to be viewed as an inherent evil, however in the minds of those who perpetuate it, it is just another part of their self preservation. I don't believe this is limited to humans though. Predators in the wild kill all the time in order to sustain themselves, and given the opportunity, will overindulge as well. Those who see it as simple violence and feel badly for those who are slain will hold their perspective, and those who see it as self-preservation of the predator itself will see it that way. Once again, coming down to perspective (again, in my opinion).
Even if concepts of good and evil could be solidly established, I feel that they are inherently tied to one another, much as the concepts of love and hate are. If someone was to take away what you love because they love it as well and had the means to do so, the natural response is to hate the one who took it away from you. We cannot simply have one side of things; the other comes with it just as shadows follow light. Without these emotions, and the potential to swing to the extremes of either side, we would end up being robots.
That isn't all to say that there hasn't been a reasonable average to good and evil to society at large; just that it is still relative to our lives and the era we live in and not an absolute.
tl;dr All is relative. You cannot make everyone happy simultaneously. Seeking what brings benefits to the largest sectors of society is generally what is considered "good".
Good and Evil are all relative. There is no such thing as inherent evil, nor is there such a thing as inherit good. We are born with the simple instinct of self-preservation; which can be viewed by some as greed, and by others as something completely natural for living things. Attributes like this "greed" can be taken to the excess to be viewed as an inherent evil, however in the minds of those who perpetuate it, it is just another part of their self preservation. I don't believe this is limited to humans though. Predators in the wild kill all the time in order to sustain themselves, and given the opportunity, will overindulge as well. Those who see it as simple violence and feel badly for those who are slain will hold their perspective, and those who see it as self-preservation of the predator itself will see it that way. Once again, coming down to perspective (again, in my opinion).
Even if concepts of good and evil could be solidly established, I feel that they are inherently tied to one another, much as the concepts of love and hate are. If someone was to take away what you love because they love it as well and had the means to do so, the natural response is to hate the one who took it away from you. We cannot simply have one side of things; the other comes with it just as shadows follow light. Without these emotions, and the potential to swing to the extremes of either side, we would end up being robots.
That isn't all to say that there hasn't been a reasonable average to good and evil to society at large; just that it is still relative to our lives and the era we live in and not an absolute.
tl;dr All is relative. You cannot make everyone happy simultaneously. Seeking what brings benefits to the largest sectors of society is generally what is considered "good".