97 replies to this topic

[Sakari]

Habitat, on 02 February 2012 - 02:04 AM, said:

Incorrect, and demonstrably so. I see no priority of self-preservation in the countless examples of heroism where people have sacrificed their lives in war and other dramatic circumstances. What happened to the primacy of self-preservation among those who knowingly entered the hell of Chernobyl with the knowledge they would be fatally irradiated ? They also knew that unless someone did, a much greater catastrophe would ensue. Greater love hath no man.....

You have a good point there...The war part though, each Soldier main goal is to survive.Yes, they are brave, and put their life on the line to save others, but with the attitude and bravery they will succeed without losing their life.....But again, there are those who dove on grenades to save comrades, etc......

So, I was wrong, and wish I could edit out my post

I was not thinking that deep

[Habitat]

Sakari, on 02 February 2012 - 02:20 AM, said:

I was not thinking that deep

Thanks for the gracious reply, alas we all just skim the surface of things at times.  

[PsiSeeker]

I saw a few responses indicating that what is good is a subjective thing.  Self preservation is good.  Self sacrifice for preservation of a greater part of the population is good.

What is good for a virus?  Self preservation?  Eradication?  Multiplication?

These answers need to have an objective slant to it also.  Leaning toward over population doesn't seem good to me if the environment can't sustain the species...

Perhaps what is most good for humans is continues progress.  I don't think we are a species that can become stale in this sense without effectively killing ourselves by killing the environment.

Also, reading some of the responses I was reminded of a video clip I saw on Ted where a war general talked about the "goodness" of the gun.  Some might find it interesting.  I did.

http://www.ted.com/t...hose_a_gun.html

[redhen]

me-wonders, on 31 January 2012 - 11:57 PM, said:

we should talk about what makes a person good.

Oxytocin , the "moral molecule".

[TheBanana]

i think what makes people good is kinda hard to explain, but generally treating other people as they wish to be treated themselfes and not deliberately harming anyone (although i think hurting someone in self defence, like if they were trying to hurt you and you fought back, is ok........or defending others, like if someone was holding a bunch of people hostage and you shot them and saved the other people)

people arent good because of religion, if following the laws of your religion is the only thing stopping you from going out killing people, then theres obviously a problem.

most people are good just because of their built in morals. they know that if they did something bad, they would feel guilty about it, as they have empathy for other people, and understand that if they do something to someone like hurting them or stealing their stuff, they would be sad and they think of how they would feel if someone did that to them.

Edited by TheBanana, 02 February 2012 - 02:21 PM.

[Beckys_Mom]

Hanging out with me  lol

[Toadie]

Good person is someone who makes the most of what they are given in life, makes people around them feel wanted / loved

[TheBoar]

i class my self as good even though other people persieve me as horrible if i dont know you or you are not my friend i wont talk to u and genreally give you evils but i would give the shirt of my back to a friend or family member

[Toadie]

Give you evils?? Meaning

[J. K.]

I would say that a person's "good" behavior is a result of both they environment in which they are raised, as well as any physiological condition that might be an influence.  This is my opinion based upon years of observation of both Christians and non-Christians in my classroom for years.  Granted that they're all teenagers, but their character is revealed through their words and actions.

[Kafkaesque]

What makes a person good?

To me it is someone who attempts to be honest to themselves and to others. It is someone who accepts the inherent flaws in their human nature - but more often than not does selfless things for the sake of good. All humans at one point in their lives will do something "bad", but what we should pay attention to is the amount of honesty, open-mindedness, integrity, and intentions that we could consider as "good".

[dest]

what makes a person good?
IMO the person is simply just a catalyst (item) the actual evil or good thing is the idea for example the idea of killing someone (evil) and the idea of helping someone (good) and Religon (plz dont tell me if your in a specific religon your on the "good side") some people are good and some bad so my answer to that is that if they follow their Religon by following it I mean like not murdering or stealing but there are a bunch of other stuff that is evil.

Edit: by following religon I mean that most of the religons have only good rules like not murdering.

Edited by dest, 02 February 2012 - 06:28 PM.

[me-wonders]

Toadie, on 02 February 2012 - 03:42 PM, said:

Good person is someone who makes the most of what they are given in life, makes people around them feel wanted / loved

You make me think of a receptionist who recently retired.  This woman was exceptional in how she could manage several phone calls at a time and the people who came to the counter, and make each one feel like she had all the time in the world to just focus on him or her.  She just never appeared stressed.  

She also greeted everyone with such pleasantness, everyone felt wanted.  

So Becky's Mom, I believe you when you say hanging around you makes a person good.  That is possible.

Edited by me-wonders, 03 February 2012 - 07:54 PM.

[me-wonders]

Drayno, on 02 February 2012 - 05:53 PM, said:

What makes a person good?

To me it is someone who attempts to be honest to themselves and to others. It is someone who accepts the inherent flaws in their human nature - but more often than not does selfless things for the sake of good. All humans at one point in their lives will do something "bad", but what we should pay attention to is the amount of honesty, open-mindedness, integrity, and intentions that we could consider as "good".

You have said a couple of things I want to call attention to.  One is the importance of begin honest with oneself.  I read a Christian book about being honest with oneself, and it was hard to admit how right the author is, because I was so accustom to making myself feel good, by lying to myself.  But I realized from reading the book, I was making myself a victim and powerless, because my lies were about how blameless I was, and nothing was my fault.  I sure wish I still had that book.  When we ask ourselves the right questions, and are really honest with ourselves, we can see how to resolve our problems.    

You say "more often than not does selfless things for the sake of good".  YES!  That is living by principles, instead of basing our decisions on how we feel.  We do this and not that, because it is the right thing to do, and chose for the right, because we understand cause and effect, and sooner of later if we chose wrongly there is a price to pay.  Economies around the world are paying a terrible price for not being honest and in some cases, for being down right selfish and immoral.   I am very hopeful that as we all deal with the wrongs of the last several years, we will have a revival or morality.  

I so appreciate your mention of the fact that we will do bad.  When we get to the end of our lives and look back, we realize our errors, and that we are not born knowing everything we need to know.  Some of our worst wrongs are done with good intentions.  We must also be forgiving of ourselves and others.

These are qualities of being good, and I will ask again, what makes us good.  That is what causes us to have these qualities?

May I give an example?  The first thread I read today, was full of rude and hurtful statements, and I almost left the forums before reading this thread.  Even though the rudeness and hurtful statements were not directed at me, I felt the pain.  

I do not want to spend my time with people who are careless of the feelings of others.  It leads to me having a negative outlook, and behaving in away that makes me ashamed myself. Like it can be fun to cut someone down badly with my words, and I used to be proud of doing that, but some years ago I learned that is being abusive, and now I feel ashamed of myself when I do that.  

I don't want to hang with people who bring out the worst in me.  So I would say, what makes us good or bad, is in part, the people we associate with.  I am attracted to the people who have posted in this thread, because they are talking about the rules that bring out the best in everyone.

Edited by me-wonders, 03 February 2012 - 08:35 PM.

[Beckys_Mom]

me-wonders, on 03 February 2012 - 07:52 PM, said:

So Becky's Mom, I believe you when you say hanging around you makes a person good.  That is possible.

Thank you...I guess with your good nature, hanging out with you  can be the same..