Good and Evil
I'm hoping to avoid any circular logic, in case discussion comes up.
But I've recently been thinking about my moral code, other peoples' moral codes, and heroism.
This was started partly because of reading an assload of David Gemmell, but it's a discussion topic that I've happily championed for several years.
I don't believe in altruism. I think I've posted this before, but I think it bears worth in repeating.
I don't believe in altruism.
Altruism, by my definition, is helping other people or putting other people first and foremost, without any thought for yourself and with no benefit for the giver. It's a one-sided, completely voluntary gift from one party to another.
I think that if someone is giving someone else something, they think it's right, or they feel good about it, or they derive an amount of joy from the giving.
Unless completely devoid of emotion, the giver will inevitably gain some satisfaction from the help given, therefor rendering it, to some degree, selfish.
Not entirely or even largely. But partly.
And altruism is pure.
I don't believe in altruism.
That brings me to my definition of good and evil.
What is good?
What is evil?
Many people use the terms but don't seem to have set definitions or define traits that make someone good or evil.
My personal definition of good is selflessness, whereas evil is selfishness.
So I am a firm believer that just about everyone is evil.
Seriously.
However, I'm not saying anything about original sin or anything like that. I'm not specifically damning anyone.
But I do think that everyone is evil. A little.
Thinking through this post thus far, I suppose I could say that emotions are evil, as they are motivated by the self, the individual.
Tying this post to the previous post on Sword and Sorcery, I suppose I like the perceived realism of the antiheroes. Another facet of Sword and Sorcery I enjoy are the descriptions of camping and of hunting. Did you know that wolves' howls don't echo? Did you know that shooting DOWN hills is harder than UP them, as the human eye is distorted differently in the two orientations?
I didn't know that!
Doesn't mean it's true, but it makes for interesting reading. For me, at least.
Anyway, you're a sinner, I'm a sinner, but that's okay.
But I've recently been thinking about my moral code, other peoples' moral codes, and heroism.
This was started partly because of reading an assload of David Gemmell, but it's a discussion topic that I've happily championed for several years.
I don't believe in altruism. I think I've posted this before, but I think it bears worth in repeating.
I don't believe in altruism.
Altruism, by my definition, is helping other people or putting other people first and foremost, without any thought for yourself and with no benefit for the giver. It's a one-sided, completely voluntary gift from one party to another.
I think that if someone is giving someone else something, they think it's right, or they feel good about it, or they derive an amount of joy from the giving.
Unless completely devoid of emotion, the giver will inevitably gain some satisfaction from the help given, therefor rendering it, to some degree, selfish.
Not entirely or even largely. But partly.
And altruism is pure.
I don't believe in altruism.
That brings me to my definition of good and evil.
What is good?
What is evil?
Many people use the terms but don't seem to have set definitions or define traits that make someone good or evil.
My personal definition of good is selflessness, whereas evil is selfishness.
So I am a firm believer that just about everyone is evil.
Seriously.
However, I'm not saying anything about original sin or anything like that. I'm not specifically damning anyone.
But I do think that everyone is evil. A little.
Thinking through this post thus far, I suppose I could say that emotions are evil, as they are motivated by the self, the individual.
Tying this post to the previous post on Sword and Sorcery, I suppose I like the perceived realism of the antiheroes. Another facet of Sword and Sorcery I enjoy are the descriptions of camping and of hunting. Did you know that wolves' howls don't echo? Did you know that shooting DOWN hills is harder than UP them, as the human eye is distorted differently in the two orientations?
I didn't know that!
Doesn't mean it's true, but it makes for interesting reading. For me, at least.
Anyway, you're a sinner, I'm a sinner, but that's okay.