(07-19-2023, 08:56 AM)Gordi Wrote:(07-17-2023, 11:27 AM)Darkness in soul Wrote: All wars are always about good and evil...
IMHO the concepts of "Good" and "Evil" are constructs of the human mind.
Wars are not always about good and evil.
They can be about resources, belief systems, fear, ego, power... the list is probably near endless. Some of those reasons may have good or evil connotations, but not all.
Can only human beings be good or evil?
Is there Good or Evil intent when a colony of termites has to defend itself against an attacking army of Ants? or are the Ants simply in need of the resources that the termites are hoarding?
Is a domestic house-cat evil for hunting/killing garden birds or mice for the sport/fun of it, or is it just following its natural instinct to hunt (without actually needing the "extra" food because we keep and feed it)? (*If I killed a garden bird for fun/sport would I be considered evil?...and is that because I am considered to have the power of "reason" and a concept of "morals" that a house-cat does not?)
Most (if not all) of the commentators here, are coming at Good & Evil from a modern, western, Christian (or similar) viewpoint. Even if you are not personally religious as such, the language and historical references for Good and Evil have generally been passed down to you (to us) through generations of our religious forebears. They have a deep religious and moral significance in our various cultures and they directly affect how we view and understand the concepts of Good and Evil today.
Many other cultures simply do not see the duality of good and evil.
Some just see the concept of Evil as being the absence of Good. That Evil itself does not exist - like cold is the absence of heat, or darkness is the absence of light.
Without "good" morals... would we all be inherently evil?
What makes us think that OUR concept of Good and Evil is the correct one?
I tend to think of the concepts of good & evil as being more like the simplified concepts of Right & Wrong.
If I do the right thing, then I or others will benefit and no one will be harmed/upset in (or as a result of) the process.
If I do the wrong thing then bad things will happen.
Not necessarily with "Good or Evil" intent, just basic physics - every action has an equal and opposite reaction etc. Right?
In the end... it's probably just wordplay...
Without Evil - Good would not exist? (and vice-versa.)
Without an Action - The Re-Action would not exist.
Without the concept of God... the Devil??
Without Right... Wrong? or Wrong, Right? etc etc
And Who gets to decide what the definition of ANY of these concepts are anyway?
It's a pickle I tells ya!
G
True, things are rarely so black and white. Same situations can be good for some and evil for others. Like robbery, for example. Someone maybe looted a store to help out a family in need. That could be seen as good for the family, but evil for the store owner.
Also Gordi, my mother is still waiting on those 18 years of back-paid child support. That's another example of good and evil. Not paying child support is good for your wallet, but evil for poor Schmoe who had to live in a hovel
