Monday, January 28, 2008

What is good?

It is impossible to start answering this question without talking about absolutes. Something being good means it is exclusive and can never contain "bad". It is inherent in the nature of the definition.

The definition of what is good must come from a source apart from human creation. Humans are, in nature, biased and unable to create a pure law untainted by their flaws. Therefore it is necessary to address the exists of an all knowing all good higher power.

If this higher power does not exist humans must derive from their culture the scale for judging what is right and wrong. And by doing this they deviate from the true definition of good -something without fault that transcends culture and time.

Of course there are exceptions. There is a difference in moral law and culturally acceptable behavior. For example, in some areas of Europe it is acceptable for young children to watch risque television, but in the U.S. parents are usually much more sensitive to sexual content. This is just a difference in cultural flavor. It does not deal with a moral absolute. A moral absolute in the context of this discussion would be, "Is it ever right to steal?"