Okay, we're digging deep, this is something I think about a lot.
Do you believe in the concept of good and evil?
And you know I want more than a yes or no answer, this is Mastodon after all.
Discussion
nostr:npub18ljjwuh8vt0lrh3fe3vsefddt40u297gtsk3d4v4ywhjnvms9zfqy480hq Yes, I believe if the universe has an underlying principle, the conflict between good and evil, or truth and error is the essense of the thing. And one can extrapolate from that the literal existence of Heaven and Hell, which may or not be purely psychic - but none the less real - in nature.
nostr:npub18ljjwuh8vt0lrh3fe3vsefddt40u297gtsk3d4v4ywhjnvms9zfqy480hq
Yes. I truly believe that I have come face to face with pure, unadulterated evil. I've never shaken hands and met the eyes of pure unadulterated good, but if there's one, there has to be the other, right? The existence is at least implied.
nostr:npub18ljjwuh8vt0lrh3fe3vsefddt40u297gtsk3d4v4ywhjnvms9zfqy480hq It's hard not to. We are constantly surrounded by the concept of good vs evil. It's in super heros vs villains in movies and comics, religion, politics, civil servants, civil defense and in the military.
nostr:npub18ljjwuh8vt0lrh3fe3vsefddt40u297gtsk3d4v4ywhjnvms9zfqy480hq
My thought is ascribing "evil" to someone lets them off the hook for their own actions.
Likewise, "good" shortchanges the hard work and tough choices a person makes.
nostr:npub18ljjwuh8vt0lrh3fe3vsefddt40u297gtsk3d4v4ywhjnvms9zfqy480hq
Unfortunately I think it's relativistic where we can identify "evil" fairly well, but "good" can only be measured against that. Like we can suggest a lot of the R power structure is "evil" to some extent or other, but doesn't mean the D power structure is "good", only "better". So I think it's possible to identify pure "evil" but not pure "good" (This is just a thought experiment)
nostr:npub18ljjwuh8vt0lrh3fe3vsefddt40u297gtsk3d4v4ywhjnvms9zfqy480hq I understand the concepts to be religious, so in that respect, I reject good and evil.
Beyond that, good and evil are terms we ascribe to acts or thoughts that help or hurt us and others, with levels of severity.
On occasion, they may even coincide with religious versions.
I'm an atheist, so for a moral compass I rely on empathy and reason. I find the silver rule as a good rule of thumb. Definitely prefer it to its more popular cousin, the golden rule.
No, they are not the same.😉