Even if I believed in the God people talk about, or had a religion, I would still find this a gross oversimplification of the concept of good & evil. Everyone who's commented previously has made a valid point. I liked Silmaril's best.
ex. Is someone who drives a really loud car through a residential neighborhood with their radio on loud enough to rattle dual-paned windows together, be clearly audible in a brick house, and wake me at 0200 just as I've gotten to sleep evil? How evil? Do they not know how much unhappiness listening to music so loud at such an hour inflicts on other? (ignorance) Do they know and not care? (a little evil maybe) Do they drive around chortling "Heh-heh. Let's see who we can wake up tonight." (malicious, probably evil, but I dunno. The effect's the same in all 3.) They aren't breaking in. They aren't killing or raping me. They can't turn me into a pillar of NaCl or send me back to Hades because my husband disobeys a vain and unnecessary command. Yeah, god(s) is/are all good. There's probably someone out there to tell me s/he/they are, but I ain't buying so don't try.
Purely good acts are few and far between, sometimes, it seems. Humans are inherently selfish in that at some level, we all want what we want, preferably now. Even when we think we don't. It's what we do with it and how we do it that is how good can be measured if it can be. I try to act outside the selfishness while realizing it's not possible to do so, and be honest about it when I can't. If forced to lie, I do so as little as possible. (I've seen dresses that fit better. Maybe a different belt or necklace...) and try to help.
Anniemal's atheist doctrine. Obey Golden Rule. Recycle. Don't run stoplights on purpose. Try to smile. See what there is to be done that you can do to make everyone's life a little easier. Hope you guessed right. Try not to be a gadfly too much. Turn things found in to lost & founds even if you really want them. Try not to lose temper. Do not steal. Do not kill anything you're not prepared to eat except plant pests, stinging things, and spiders found in the bathtub. Don't expect that because you try to do all this that anything's going to come of it.
And then there are sociopathic predators who think all of the above are are signs of weakness, indicating thaat one is prey. If they're crazy or not quite human, are they evil? Oh dear.
That's interesting, I've always thought of doing good deeds as a sign of strength, cuz it takes effort to do good deeds and doing them implies you have energy to spare. So in my phylosophy the persons that do the most/biggest good deeds are deemed the most powerful, as would be the hunter that brings home the biggest wooly mammoth at the end of the day.
And shares it with the tribe. So his sister's kids survive, maybe. And he pretty young thing in the hut up the hill or something.
You're right about effort and kindness and strength. Being thoughtful of others takes time and isn't always easy. That's why I called those who prey on others who seem vulnerably unsuspecting of the possibility of evil being done to them crazy or not quite human. Their efforts yield evil results for others in obvious ways, but they don't see or feel the evil results in themselves. But I'm working on the nature of evil. This is complicated.
Well, going with you first point, I guess I have to conceed that selflessness is all about selfishness, but I still prefer the selflessness route cuz it's more esthetic that naked selfishness. :)
Good & Evil, measurement of
ex. Is someone who drives a really loud car through a residential neighborhood with their radio on loud enough to rattle dual-paned windows together, be clearly audible in a brick house, and wake me at 0200 just as I've gotten to sleep evil? How evil? Do they not know how much unhappiness listening to music so loud at such an hour inflicts on other? (ignorance) Do they know and not care? (a little evil maybe) Do they drive around chortling "Heh-heh. Let's see who we can wake up tonight." (malicious, probably evil, but I dunno. The effect's the same in all 3.) They aren't breaking in. They aren't killing or raping me. They can't turn me into a pillar of NaCl or send me back to Hades because my husband disobeys a vain and unnecessary command. Yeah, god(s) is/are all good. There's probably someone out there to tell me s/he/they are, but I ain't buying so don't try.
Purely good acts are few and far between, sometimes, it seems. Humans are inherently selfish in that at some level, we all want what we want, preferably now. Even when we think we don't. It's what we do with it and how we do it that is how good can be measured if it can be. I try to act outside the selfishness while realizing it's not possible to do so, and be honest about it when I can't. If forced to lie, I do so as little as possible. (I've seen dresses that fit better. Maybe a different belt or necklace...) and try to help.
Anniemal's atheist doctrine. Obey Golden Rule. Recycle. Don't run stoplights on purpose. Try to smile. See what there is to be done that you can do to make everyone's life a little easier. Hope you guessed right. Try not to be a gadfly too much. Turn things found in to lost & founds even if you really want them. Try not to lose temper. Do not steal. Do not kill anything you're not prepared to eat except plant pests, stinging things, and spiders found in the bathtub. Don't expect that because you try to do all this that anything's going to come of it.
And then there are sociopathic predators who think all of the above are are signs of weakness, indicating thaat one is prey. If they're crazy or not quite human, are they evil? Oh dear.
signs of weakness
Re: signs of weakness
You're right about effort and kindness and strength. Being thoughtful of others takes time and isn't always easy. That's why I called those who prey on others who seem vulnerably unsuspecting of the possibility of evil being done to them crazy or not quite human. Their efforts yield evil results for others in obvious ways, but they don't see or feel the evil results in themselves. But I'm working on the nature of evil. This is complicated.
Re: signs of weakness