Quote:
Originally Posted by Bring_Back_Shantz
I'd look at it from a different angle.
Don't try to decide what category our behavior fits into.
Meaning, don't get hung up on good or evil, as these are subjective.
I'd go at it by describing human nature, wich tends to be self serving, just as any other animal is, that is how evolution works.
Once you've defined the general nature of our actions, then choose whether this should be defined as good or evil.
I'm probaly being a little confusing here, but what I'm saying is that instead of trying to debat which side of the question the answer falls on, try to debate the meanings and applicability of the labels in the question.
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I'd fall down on this side as well. However, we have to understand that in certain situations our self-interest comes into conflict with ethics.
I think we're a mixed bag, somehow. From a biological standpoint, I suppose we evolved on the basis of individual selection, hence the selfish-gene. On the other hand, we did evolve in social communes, so there is an element of reciprocal altruism which can be understood scientifically.
The unknown for me is the institutions and ethics which govern morality. Spirituality, justice, and honour. It's important to recognize those as being somehow real, even if we can only express them in crude linguistic terms.
What separates a society like Denmark from Germany. Once chose to save their Jewish population as a matter of ethical principle, while the other chose to ruthlessly destroy them.