What makes a 'good' person?, page 1
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reply posted on 15-1-2009 @ 01:22 AM by lovelyn
reply to post by tac109


My thoughts exactly.. but when i compare a general 'someone' to someone that is raising money for the homeles..well, there is a gap there.


reply posted on 15-1-2009 @ 10:45 AM by Hexidecimal
There is no such thing as a good person. Behind every 'good' action, is a egocentric action. Every person is selfish, regardless of how they and other people think of them. Lets take some examples from this thread.

- Feed the homeless? Host a fund raiser to raise money for them? If you're religious, 9/10, you're doing it to look better in the eyes of your lord. For the 1/10, and the rest of the populous, you're doing it to improve your general image, (and what the general public thinks of you), or to make yourself feel good. Though you may care about the homeless man sleeping in an alley, or on a sidewalk, your motivation to help was selfish and egocentric.

- Tell a lie and feel bad about it? Tell someone you lied, and start telling the truth? You didn't tell the truth because it was nice. You told the truth to get the guilt off your chest, because it was tearing you up inside. On the opposite side of the coin, you tell the truth 100% of the time, not because it's nice, but because others will have a higher opinion of you, boosting your happiness.

But, I guess if we are looking at it as a definite 'Right' or 'Wrong', you'll never get a straight answer. From my point of view; You steal something for fun. That's wrong. You steal a loaf of bread to feed your family. That's right. You kill someone out of cold blood. That's wrong. You kill someone who has killed, and will kill again. That's right. In my opinion, because you had to ask, you're not a good person. You were questioning yourself because of something immoral you may have done, and came here seeking justification.

Sorry if I disappointed you.

[edit on (1/15/0909 by Hexidecimal]


reply posted on 15-1-2009 @ 12:46 PM by lovelyn
reply to post by liquidsmoke206


As i said, i started to question just what makes a good person.

I'm not questioning my own personal intentions or morals. This by all means is NOT an ego-booster for me and i simply opened this thread for mere discussion. I wanted to see everyone's point of view tat was willing to answer.

-----------------------------------------------------

For Kant, ethics come from rationality. People are supposed to be able to use reason to figure out the Categorical Imperative, which is his big all-encompassing moral law.

The Categorical Imperative says something like "Only do something if you would want everybody in your situation to do the same thing." It is a bit like the golden rule "do onto others as you would have them do to you."

He thinks that if you are a good person, you'd be really rational, and if you are really rational, then you would follow that law. Further, you would make what he calls "Maxims", which are just kind of like little rules that you figure out based on the catergorical imperative.


reply posted on 15-1-2009 @ 01:30 PM by liquidsmoke206
reply to post by lovelyn


I never said anything about an ego boost, reread my post if you don't believe me. I simply said this is about your ego.

The Ego comprises that organized part of the personality structure which includes defensive, perceptual, intellectual-cognitive, and executive functions. Conscious awareness resides in the ego, although not all of the operations of the ego are conscious. The ego separates what is real. It helps us to organize our thoughts and make sense of them and the world around us.


as you can see, the idea of good or bad comes directly from the ego. They exist for the purpose of making sense of the world around us, and for satisfying the id. Outside of ourselves and our egos, good and bad are simply not present. Inside ourselves they are only present in forms which we each individually deem useful. Therefor 2 completely opposite views could both be considered good depending on who you ask.


reply posted on 15-1-2009 @ 01:33 PM by juveous
reply to post by Hexidecimal


That was a neat post.
And then you wonder why people look to God as a source of supreme judgment. Many times every situation has the paradoxical alternative perspective. saying that things like 'good' and 'bad' don't exist isn't entirely true, we know what they are and how to describe them to the best of our given knowledge, so in the question of what makes a good person - I would say, who's the judge?


reply posted on 15-1-2009 @ 02:26 PM by juveous
reply to post by liquidsmoke206

Yes or they assume that God is the only one allowed to truly judge, in the sense that you are judged after death.
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