Good and evil are simple enough. But it makes
sense to clear up one huge misconception. Good is values not virtues. The word
virtue crops up 253 times in Aristotle's Ethics. Values are barely mentioned.
The highest goods and the most egregious
evils are related to the achievement of freedom, truth and beauty at the top
and the avoidance of the ascending levels of harm at the bottom. We human
beings are a spectrum of good and evil. Just look at the following hierarchies
to become aware of the incredible mix of good and evil we are.
Hierarchy
of Good
1. Being
loving and free
2. Acting
and expressing for truth and beauty
3. Valuing
Non-idolatry
4. Valuing
Democracy
5. Valuing
Helpfulness
6. Valuing
Tolerance
7. Contributing
to the community
8. Being
responsible
9.
Critical thinking
10.
Self-respect
Hierarchy
of Evil
10.
Thoughtlessness
9.
Selfishness
8. Judging
others
7. Ganging
Up
6.
Excluding
5.
Intolerance
4.
Opposing democracy
3. Unhelpfulness
2. Causing
injury
1. Killing
Whatever
adjustments you might make in these hierarchies, I trust you would agree that
they evoke the actual values that lead to the actual behavior indicated. Some
gang up and exclude, some oppose democracy. Some kill. Some pay taxes whose
effects cause harm. Some support
businesses that do the same. Some accept
practices that are proved to be harmful. That's merely a fraction of the
downside. On the upside, positive values have been instrumental in generating
historical progress over the centuries. Particularly those which form the
ethical index of triadic philosophy: tolerance, helpfulness, democracy and
non-idolatry.
How much
more progress there would be if these positive values were accepted universally.
They are a true and apt measure of what does good.
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