[Procyona]

Some people say that any person is either good or bad. Some say that people are all bad, or all good. Some say they are neither, or that the question of morality is absurb on itself.

Dear forummates, what is your opinion on this? What do good and bad mean, and how are they conneted to people? Thank you.

I do not believe that people can be either good or bad. I know, there are murderers, and those who are considered to be saints. But saying that they are good or bad is only my opinion on how they affect toward me, or the society - do they help or cause distraction. And it comes from their actions.

The actions, how ever cannot be good or bad, because in diffrent situations the outcome changes. They are either suitable or not suitable for the goals they have in mind. But is a choice good because of it's outcome? I do not think so, for that we cannot control.

Hypothetically the goal of a murderer and a saint can be the same - they may want to be happy. How they seek to achieve that goal just differs.

Personally, I don't like to use either word (good or bad). They don't have that much informational value to a conversation, only emotion, and not so detailed at that either.   

[Andrei]

Hi Procyona.
Nice to meet you.

As Gandhi said "Hate the sin and not the sinner". Interesting point of view, I understand it that all people are nice, but unfortunately sometimes make bad things and we should remember if we don't like those things, not to identify people and sins that they've made.

Unfortunately, me personally could not always remember this principle. But want to.   

[Procyona]

Hi Andrei, nice to meet you too. You can also call me Milla, if you wish

[Gra-ach]

I agree on both points, people aren't good or bad per se. But their actions can be judged towards ourselves or society. So for someone this action is good, for someone it's bad. Maybe their decisions may not seem right from our point of view, but again, they can be beneficial for someone else.

And I agree on not judging anyone basing on his/her previous actions. Since we don't know what made them do what they did and I do believe that people change (there are some exceptions to this rule, of course), so evaluating only current actions is fair.   

[Художник]

i think its all depends on perception - lens inside us. we watching the world throught it. we decide - good or bad.

as i read somewhere in the web - all people are good when you met them first time.they can became bad as far as you know them.   

[Andrei]

[Procyona]

I agree with you on this, it is very personal matter. Whether something is good or bad is just an poinion. That said, it's interestingly though that in most societys there are common rules and morals that are not accepted. Like that mentioned murder or stealing. Although it depends from the society in question, as some ancient tribes in Amazon or such might have it diffrently. I guess any bigger group of humans needs to accept certain rules in order to work together. These rules then become their moral code for common good and bad.   

[Haveunique]

[Haveunique]

[Procyona]

[Gra-ach]

[Procyona]

[Gra-ach]

I meant more in the way of potential to become someone, how we imagine this person can turn out to be later. Like you know it's said that women make a mistake of falling in love not with the actual man, but with his potential

So it's like we have a picture in our mind that has past (things which were already done) and several (or one) direction for future (like what we expect a person do or say) and we don't react to what's going on, but to what we have in our imagination.   

[Haveunique]

It seems a reality check is really good to have any time people start being "good" or "bad" Who are we to estimate? Don't we see things as good or bad according to our understanding and values? Or even misunderstanding sometimes? What is good for you, may be not so for me, and vice versa. It's true, we've learned to live based on such assumptions. Part of the learning is not only let the assumptions go away but also rationalize our choice. So when we stop imagining past and future interpretations, what should we use as the base of our action instead?

I think it's not only seeing what we do and what others do. It's also knowing why we do stuff and for what, and also learning why people do what they do.   

[Procyona]

Thank you for the question Tetyana I agree with you, the reason 'why' people do things tells much more of the action than the actual 'what' they do. If I want to be part of the action depends on what it is worth for me.