Community > General Religion Chat

Topic: How do you measure good and evil?
d3vi1d06 Joined Tue 09/30/08 Posts: 245	Sat 10/04/08 05:33 AM
wait how did you guys start talking about evolution?

Pink_lady Joined Sun 08/24/08 Posts: 2507	Sat 10/04/08 05:36 AM Edited by Pink_lady on Sat 10/04/08 05:38 AM
How do you measure good and evil? By looking at the positive an negative influence on a big picture

Krimsa Joined Fri 04/25/08 Posts: 9960	Sat 10/04/08 05:38 AM Edited by Krimsa on Sat 10/04/08 05:39 AM
d3vi1d06 Because every single religion thread that is ever begun inevitably takes a turn towards the Theory of Evolution vs. Creationism.

d3vi1d06 Joined Tue 09/30/08 Posts: 245	Sat 10/04/08 06:03 AM
but evolution is... blasphemy!!!!!!!!

Krimsa Joined Fri 04/25/08 Posts: 9960	Sat 10/04/08 06:04 AM
Yep...according to fundamentalist Christians...it just did not go down that way.

d3vi1d06 Joined Tue 09/30/08 Posts: 245	Sat 10/04/08 06:14 AM
so... we just appeared out of nowhere? odd

Krimsa Joined Fri 04/25/08 Posts: 9960	Sat 10/04/08 06:15 AM
Well no, Adam and Eve in Genesis. Adam and Eve were created (over the course of two conflicting accounts of creation) by god blowing on some dust.

d3vi1d06 Joined Tue 09/30/08 Posts: 245	Sat 10/04/08 06:20 AM Edited by d3vi1d06 on Sat 10/04/08 06:21 AM
oh and don't forget the spiteful snake. eve must've spoke parceltongue

SkyHook5652 Joined Sat 08/23/08 Posts: 4063	Sat 10/04/08 09:47 AM
d3vi1d06 Because every single religion thread that is ever begun inevitably takes a turn towards the Theory of Evolution vs. Creationism. And I think you should be proud to take that major credit for that Krimsa. You are our Evolutionist champion. But really, I never intended this thread to have anything to do with religion per se. It's true that I did expect some fundmentalist(s) to chime in with some "god based" evaluations of good and bad. But so far that hasn't happened - so far

Krimsa Joined Fri 04/25/08 Posts: 9960	Sat 10/04/08 09:48 AM Edited by Krimsa on Sat 10/04/08 09:50 AM
d3vi1d06 Because every single religion thread that is ever begun inevitably takes a turn towards the Theory of Evolution vs. Creationism. And I think you should be proud to take that major credit for that Krimsa. You are our Evolutionist champion. But really, I never intended this thread to have anything to do with religion per se. It's true that I did expect some fundmentalist(s) to chime in with some "god based" evaluations of good and bad. But so far that hasn't happened - so far Eh, I just went to school. Thats it. It sure is a good thing we have an ancient largely misinterpreted book of fables to rely on as it relates to judging right and wrong and good and evil.

Jeanniebean Joined Wed 01/30/08 Posts: 40028	Sat 10/04/08 10:27 AM
I have two questions. The first is: “How do you determine whether something is good or bad?” But I’m actually more interested in the second question, which applies directly to the topic of "measuring” good and evil: “How do you determine the degree?” That is, how do you determine which of two evil things is the worst, or which of two good things is the best. Do you plug values into an equation to reach a result? Do you have a little voice in your head that you listen to? Do you depend on a divinity to tell you? Do you base it on the “majority rule”? Do you have a list of good things and bad things that you look it up in? (In this case, how did you get the list?) Do you just “feel it in your bones”? If it feels like and is done with love, wisdom, compassion, and kindness then it is good. If it feels like hate, envy, anger, resentment, cruelty, apathy, then it is not good. "Evil" has a feeling of disconnection and superiority from others. "Evil" cares only for Itself and its own survival and has no compassion for others. "Evil" is consumed with its own survival and comfort forsaking all others.

Plainome Joined Sat 08/30/08 Posts: 363	Sat 10/04/08 10:53 AM
I have two questions. The first is: “How do you determine whether something is good or bad?” But I’m actually more interested in the second question, which applies directly to the topic of "measuring” good and evil: “How do you determine the degree?” That is, how do you determine which of two evil things is the worst, or which of two good things is the best. Do you plug values into an equation to reach a result? Do you have a little voice in your head that you listen to? Do you depend on a divinity to tell you? Do you base it on the “majority rule”? Do you have a list of good things and bad things that you look it up in? (In this case, how did you get the list?) Do you just “feel it in your bones”? If it feels like and is done with love, wisdom, compassion, and kindness then it is good. If it feels like hate, envy, anger, resentment, cruelty, apathy, then it is not good. "Evil" has a feeling of disconnection and superiority from others. "Evil" cares only for Itself and its own survival and has no compassion for others. "Evil" is consumed with its own survival and comfort forsaking all others. Wow, I knew what "evil" was to me.........but the way you put it in your last paragraph...was AWESOME!

Scarlett_156 Joined Wed 09/17/08 Posts: 469	Sat 10/04/08 11:06 AM
"Evil" has a feeling of disconnection and superiority from others. "Evil" cares only for Itself and its own survival and has no compassion for others. "Evil" is consumed with its own survival and comfort forsaking all others. By this logic, if you can simply think of a non-egocentric justification for torturing small children and make others see it your way, then it's "good". I tend to have little compassion for stupid people, weak people, whiners, etc., and usually actively despise them--and so by the above logic I'm "evil", though I consider actually HURTING stupid people, or ripping them off, to be unsportsmanlike. So, on the surface it might be an "awesome" statement (maybe because of how it's constructed..? because the spelling and grammar are correct...?), but when you really pick it apart, it's just a statement that seems to be politically motivated, that has no basis in reality. Actions speak louder than words. If we think too much about whether the rabid dog is "evil" or not, it will have bitten us before we decide what to do. xoxoxo

AdventureBegins Joined Tue 04/10/07 Posts: 7666	Sat 10/04/08 11:13 AM
On the OP... With a beam of light!

tribo Joined Mon 05/12/08 Posts: 5577	Sat 10/04/08 12:13 PM
Radio shack good and evil meter - 39.00 + tax

SkyHook5652 Joined Sat 08/23/08 Posts: 4063	Sat 10/04/08 12:22 PM Edited by SkyHook5652 on Sat 10/04/08 12:25 PM
Thanks to everyone who actually answered the questions. It’s been very enlightening. The “just feel it in my bones” camp seems to have a large majority, with the “evaluation based on the greatest good for the greatest number” coming in a distant, but not insignificant, second. No other option got more than one vote - including the "write-ins". Now let’s try a concrete example… You’re in a room between two other rooms. Each of the other two rooms has a person in it. You can see and talk to the other two persons and they can see and talk to you, but neither of them can see the other, and neither of them can see or hear you while you are talking to the other. There is a switch in front of you. It has three positions: left, center and right. It is currently in the center position. In one hour, the switch will trigger poison gas. If the switch is in the left position, the gas will go into the room to your left, killing the person there. Likewise, if the switch is in the right position at the end of the hour, the gas will go into the room to your right, killing the person there. If the switch is left in the center position, the gas will be released into both rooms. You can leave before the gas is released, but neither of the other two people can. Somebody is going to die and you will decide who. How do you go about making your decision?

Scarlett_156 Joined Wed 09/17/08 Posts: 469	Sat 10/04/08 12:30 PM
What a bizarre concept. Nevertheless, me and Helmut talk about stuff like this all the time. It's amazing some of the crap that rattles around in the human brain. I would immediately kill both people if I could, rather than hassling over such a contrived decision. This would deprive the person who thought up this experiment of his sadistic glee he hopes to gain by viewing my dilemma. xoxo

Krimsa Joined Fri 04/25/08 Posts: 9960	Sat 10/04/08 12:39 PM
Skyhook, is there no possible manner in which to disengage the process? So you are asking that one or both individuals MUST die? Its sounds like a spin off of "Sophie's Choice" That film about the mother during the occupation of the Nazis who must choose which one of her children will be sacrificed in order to save the other.

SkyHook5652 Joined Sat 08/23/08 Posts: 4063	Sat 10/04/08 12:55 PM Edited by SkyHook5652 on Sat 10/04/08 01:02 PM
Thanks to everyone who actually answered the questions. It’s been very enlightening. The “just feel it in my bones” camp seems to have a large majority, with the “evaluation based on the greatest good for the greatest number” coming in a distant, but not insignificant, second. No other option got more than one vote - including the "write-ins". Now let’s try a concrete example… You’re in a room between two other rooms. Each of the other two rooms has a person in it. You can see and talk to the other two persons and they can see and talk to you, but neither of them can see the other, and neither of them can see or hear you while you are talking to the other. There is a switch in front of you. It has three positions: left, center and right. It is currently in the center position. In one hour, the switch will trigger poison gas. If the switch is in the left position, the gas will go into the room to your left, killing the person there. Likewise, if the switch is in the right position at the end of the hour, the gas will go into the room to your right, killing the person there. If the switch is left in the center position, the gas will be released into both rooms. You can leave before the gas is released, but neither of the other two people can. Somebody is going to die and you will decide who. How do you go about making your decision? Skyhook, is there no possible manner in which to disengage the process? So you are asking that one or both individuals MUST die? Its sounds like a spin off of "Sophie's Choice" That film about the mother during the occupation of the Nazis who must choose which one of her children will be sacrificed in order to save the other. I never saw that movie, but it sounds like a similar situation. The whole purpose is to illustrate that it is sometimes necessary to choose between the lesser of two evils. The thing I'm interested in is not what the final decision is, but how each person makes their decision.

SkyHook5652 Joined Sat 08/23/08 Posts: 4063	Sat 10/04/08 01:01 PM Edited by SkyHook5652 on Sat 10/04/08 01:04 PM
Thanks to everyone who actually answered the questions. It’s been very enlightening. The “just feel it in my bones” camp seems to have a large majority, with the “evaluation based on the greatest good for the greatest number” coming in a distant, but not insignificant, second. No other option got more than one vote - including the "write-ins". Now let’s try a concrete example… You’re in a room between two other rooms. Each of the other two rooms has a person in it. You can see and talk to the other two persons and they can see and talk to you, but neither of them can see the other, and neither of them can see or hear you while you are talking to the other. There is a switch in front of you. It has three positions: left, center and right. It is currently in the center position. In one hour, the switch will trigger poison gas. If the switch is in the left position, the gas will go into the room to your left, killing the person there. Likewise, if the switch is in the right position at the end of the hour, the gas will go into the room to your right, killing the person there. If the switch is left in the center position, the gas will be released into both rooms. You can leave before the gas is released, but neither of the other two people can. Somebody is going to die and you will decide who. How do you go about making your decision? What a bizarre concept. Nevertheless, me and Helmut talk about stuff like this all the time. It's amazing some of the crap that rattles around in the human brain. I would immediately kill both people if I could, rather than hassling over such a contrived decision. This would deprive the person who thought up this experiment of his sadistic glee he hopes to gain by viewing my dilemma. xoxo Since leaving the scene immediately, without taking any action at all, is within the parameters of the scenario, and would accomplish your intended purpose - "deprive the person who thought up this experiment of his sadistic glee he hopes to gain by viewing my dilemma", I assume that would be what you would do.