Results 21 to 30 of 67
-
03-22-2008, 11:32 PM #21
- Join Date
- Mar 2008
- Location
- Tampa, FL
- Posts
- 171
Thanked: 18Wow, there's a lot more interest in this discussion than I would have expected! I'm glad you all made it through my interminably long first post and still decided to contribute!
Philadelph, you ask a good question. What do you all think is absolutely or unconditionally good? That is, what might be good for everybody to have in every situation? Kant's answer, and one I tend to agree with, is that the only unconditionally good thing is a good will. That is, intending to do what is right because it is right is something that is good for everybody to have in every case.
What do you all think?
-
03-23-2008, 01:27 AM #22
Good question Kantian, but what I am saying is that without the personal opinions of one or all people, there cannot be such a thing as an absolute or unconditional good. I agree that the sentiment of "goodwill" as we understand it is a good thing, but if society had evolved by a different means, than "goodwill" in that alternate society would be defined differently.
Let me put it this way- If you have the opportunity to do a good deed for someone, why will you take it? The answer as I see it is because we are all inherently selfish. Not in a bad sense of the word mind you. We know the feeling that we will get from helping someone because we have been taught that way. Now if since the beginning of time, no one ever decided to themselves, "hey, it's a good thing for me to help the needy" or whatever, then we might not view that as a "good" thing today. It might be considered a "bad" thing instead, but the definition of bad may be different in that case. So what I mean by all of this is that there cannot be a "definitive" anything really, because there is no overall force to tell us what "truth" is besides ourselves. Now how we come to find out the "truth" in anything is also an enigma since the only thing we can use to judge that is experience, which in turn, comes from someone else's experience.
-
03-23-2008, 01:55 AM #23
Well, to lower the bar.... here is my position
Be just and fear not.
03-23-2008, 06:11 AM
#24
I'm going to have to second that.
I'd argue that we would not be a society then. We are a pack animal. We inherently understand the benefit of having a strong pack and creating strong alliances.
And I know people who are only so wise as to be foolish enough to believe that, thus deciding cognitively to live their lives with a code that goes against their nature. Miserable creatures.
X
03-23-2008, 11:31 AM
#25
My cats breath smells of cat food.
03-23-2008, 01:29 PM
#26
Syslight,The video you posted tells us everything we need to know about philosophy(and the philosophers),it would have saved a lot of time and typing if all of us posters had watched it first.Best Regards Gary
03-26-2008, 11:12 PM
#27