Subject:
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Re: Goodness of Man? (was: Re: Merry Christmas from the Libertarian Party
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.off-topic.debate
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Date:
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Fri, 31 Dec 1999 19:21:12 GMT
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Reply-To:
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JOHNNEAL@USWEST.antispamNET
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Viewed:
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1532 times
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Jasper Janssen wrote:
> On Fri, 31 Dec 1999 07:03:32 GMT, John Neal <johnneal@uswest.net>
> wrote:
>
> > I like a more objective definition because I hate the trend towards relativism I
> > think we are experiencing these days. If a sociopath considers killing others
> > good, is it? But if good is objective, from who's perspective? God, who is by
> > definition, perfect, and therefore the perfect judge of good and evil. Discerning
> > God's perspective of good is another question, but at least the search for good
> > extends beyond our mortal and imperfect selves.
>
> Good isn't objective. What we, society as a whole, consider to be
> "good" is both up for debate in certain areas (I'm specifically _not_
> going to mention ab*rti*n here), and it is no more valid than the
> ideas of other societies, other than possibly by virtue of having
> survived longer (and objective moralists aren't generally too keen on
> defining objective good in terms of Darwinism - are you?).
Well, that's my point. I'm saying that good is beyond what the particular fancy of a
given society says it is. We are not the author of good, we are the seekers of it
(hopefully).
> The Spartans made a habit of leaving unwanted babies in the mountains,
> alive, to be torn apart by the wolves. They had a short but highly
> successful reign in the first millennium BC. The Romans made a habit
> of slavery, and their empire lasted a thousand years. The Vikings made
> a habit of making blood eagles out of their enemies: cutting open the
> chest, spreading the ribs, and spreading out the guts, lungs, and
> heart on the ground beside them. While they were still alive. They
> were very successful for a few hundred years. The Borgias made a habit
> of political intrigue (and assassinations), which made Venice the most
> powerful city in the western world for a hundred years+. The United
> States made a habit of racial segregration until, historically
> speaking, yesterday, and it made them the most powerful nation on the
> planet. Until the Y2K bug killed it off, of course.
We'll soon see about that;-)
> All of these societies/people considered what they did to be "good".
>
> Are you saying they were all wrong, all the time, but _we_ are
> suddenly right?
All of these examples, of course, are examples of evil.
I don't know who you mean by _we_; I stated that *only* God is good. Seems you are
helping me prove my point.
> I realise that this is not a particularly _nice_ thing to say, but
> then, the real world isn't nice.
The world is a harsh place mostly because bad people don't know how to exist
*meaningfully*. They haven't figured out what it's all about, and so they bungle
through life reeking chaos. People need guidance, and not the blind leading the blind
kind, but the divine kind.
-John
>
>
> Jasper
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