Philisophical good vs evil
What is good? What is evil? These are seemingly easy words to define, yet if you ask any person on the street you likely will not receive a straight or clear answer. I started to question my definition of good and evil a few days ago, and I now have come to a few conclusions. As a premise, I want to actually talk about the words "good" and "evil". I can't use the word evil in this context because society has changed the meaning of the word. In the days when the theories of Plato, Socrates, and even more modern philosophers like Kant, Heidegger, and Kierkegaard were being formulated, the meaning of "philosophical evil" meant the opposite of good; which, to me means bad. Right now the word evil has a religious connotation; therefore, I can't justify its use in this context. It is much clearer to continue to use the word "good", and refer to "evil" as the philosophical opposite of good.This question appears simple but is most definitely a tough question to answer. The dictionary defines human goodness to be acting with moral excellence, which would make the opposite of good to be acting with poor morality; there is no doubt that we all associate good morals with goodness, but what is left out? What drives someone to act or not
As I discussed this question with my friends and family I got many of them to express the same argument, "what if skinning baby bunny rabbits makes me happy?". Although you cannot literally see the soul, you feel it, but must see the eyes to feel the soul (wonderfully depicted in Schindler's List when Amon is choosing a maid, and picks Helen realizing her personhood after looking her in the eyes). Think of the person that is the best example of goodness. This is the reason why I believe you cannot become your actions as Aristotle says; instead, you become your thoughts. When someone attains the level of personal satisfaction I am talking about, it becomes nearly impossible to act with malice. The imperfection I am talking about is displayed well in The Matrix when Agent Smith is telling Morpheus about the first matrix, and how the people in it would reject the false reality provided by the matrix because of it's perfect nature. Throughout the film the viewer is constantly bombarded with displays of the philosophical opposite of good; most notably, the liquidation of the ghetto. The man the film depicts as the opposite of good is Amon Goeth, when the viewer is introduced to him, he is in a car swearing and being unhappy about the car top being down. It is a chosen state that is escapable, and unhappiness is a trademark. It is a natural thing to have impulses that are malicious (the definition of the philosophical opposite of good), people everywhere want to physically harm or say things that will harm others. Instead, persons are forever doomed to choice and responsibility, meaning that everything you do think or that happens to you is a result of your own choice; that persons can "dig their own hole" and are able to "find a way out" by choosing the right choices to lead to happiness. The film continues to show him as a pure villain, killing Jews at will, beating women, and displaying a degree of selfishness that encompasses his entire being. Theories vary and all of them produce a virtue, which together can lead to goodness. Oskar Shindler is the man at the apex of goodness in the film Shindler's List.
Common topics in this essay:
Socrates Plato,
Agent Smith,
Amon Goeth,
Heidegger Kierkegaard,
Shindler's List,
List Amon,
,
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Oskar Shindler,
Plato Socrates,
baby bunny,
human goodness,
world forms,
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looking eyes,
skinning baby,
skinning baby bunny,
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Acceptance Essays
