Quote:
Originally Posted by Albion Knight
For that one person it could be seen as an evil act. Then, as you mentioned before, what if this caused the person to straighten up their act. Also in this case I would look at the greater good for all concerned.
Let’s try expanding the definition to say that a good act has an overall increase in quality for all those affected by the act and evil has an overall decrease in quality for all those affected. I would further add that the intent of the person in this regard would characterize the person and the results would characterize the act.
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I did not mean that the person would be fired in the hopes they would learn to straighten up their act... I meant that they are a poor worker and no good at their job and never will be... it is useless and unneccessary to keep them on when someone better can replace them... I asked why that would be evil... I have no interest in whether they ever learn from this or not, but you can work from the assumption that they never will if it helps...
or I could ask if a homeless person asks for some change and you have some, but had planned to use it to buy yourself a snack on the way home, is it evil to not give it to them? If it is, are you then required to give and give to every person who might ask you for anything simply because you are capable of giving it? forever indebted to those who have less than you? it's similar to simply handing someone a job when I would prefer to give it to somebody else, just because they need it ...
Insofar as good and evil being measured by its effect on others, this is the utilitarian concept, whereby right and wrong are decided like a math problem by counting the happy faces...
the fact that people would purposefully do evil things would prove that there were people who in fact enjoy performing evil acts...
that would mean that no matter what I did, were I to surround myself with enough people who shared my views, we could consider ourselves saints no matter how evil our actions so long as we were in the majority...
I prefer not to look at actions or people as good or evil because nothing is so clear cut... as I said I look at whether my actions were neccessary, and if so acceptable... whether others feel they were neccessary is irrelevant...one's honour should not be swayed by the value systems used by others...