Nothing Can Be Good or Evil in Itself Essay - 903 Words

Nothing Can Be Good or Evil in Itself Truth, beauty, and goodness are not eternal, objective realities which man discovers, but are the creative products of the human mind as it exercises its will-to-power. In other words, man is a creator of values. (Nietzsche) So what is good and evil, but that defined by man and therefore a purely subjective concept. Could we, society, have one without the other? By determining what is good, we in turn determine what is evil. How do we know what they are; that is if they really exist? One must first try to define what good and evil are before attempting to question their existence. What is good? Is it the selfless act of a volunteer at a homeless shelter or an honest and truthful†¦show more content†¦His actions were good, not just because they were intended to be good for the whole society, but because society viewed them as being for the good. Good must also be addressed in terms not related to human actions. In the eyes of our society, a flower would be undoubtedly considered good, or a symbol of good. However, there is nothing in a flower that makes it good, other than its ability to be pleasing to society. The flower does not have the ability to make an overt decision to cause evil; therefore we view it as being good. Of course, Websters dictionary doesnt quite cover this concept of good and tends to cause some confusion when addressing it. So, what is evil? Is it Hitlers near annihilation of the Jewish people during World War II or the senseless massacre at Tienneman Square on mainland China? Again we turn to Websters dictionary, which states evil as causing distress or harm, a source of sorrow, and the fact of suffering, misfortune, and wrongdoing. (Merriam-Webster) Evil would be any intention to cause an undesirable effect upon ones self or on another person. So by saying that the intentions of a person are not to cause good we automatically assume that they are out to cause evil. For instance, religious and political leaders of Dr. Martin Luther Kings time resisted all efforts on his part toward equality because he would be attempting to change an accepted way of life. KingShow MoreRelatedThe Theory Of The Design Argument1201 Words   |  5 Pagesperson comes to the conclusion that it is more plausible for this unknown piece of machinery to have a designer than come together of random actions, then the person is coming to that conclusion without ever seeing or having observed a watchmaker. This can be seen as a direct analogy between the watchmaker and the watch and the universe and a creator. If the beachgoer in Paley’s argument had no knowledge of what the watch was, how would they know what a watchmaker was? The finder of the watch on theRead MoreEssay on The Consolation of Philosophy995 Words   |  4 Pagesdivine reason, the supreme good, the origin of all things. He demonstrates that God is omnipotent and omniscient. 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