#1 04-10-06 08:09:24

The_West_Wind

Member

From: Australia

Registered: 20-05-06

Posts: 331

What is Good?

What is good?
What does it mean to be good?
What does it mean to do good things?
Who are good people?
What makes these people good?
If someone calls you a good person, can you believe them?
Do the good always finish last?
If so, why?

Dont take this as me losing my mind just yet. I'm seeing my therapist friend tomorrow.

Last edited by The_West_Wind (04-10-06 08:10:03)

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Well... there was nothing in my dark side that really interested me. I guess I just dont have what it takes to be a bad guy.

msnevil

Member

Registered: 18-03-06

Posts: 330

Re: What is Good?

Good is the best that I think I can be, and what I accuse others of not becoming.

Yet there is another thing I see under the sun. Races are not won by a undoped body, and Battles are not won by the honest. Food doesn't go to the hard working, and wealth doesn't go to those who deserve it. Favor goes to the uneducated. And The only Ruler over them all is time and chance.

nihpuad

Member

Registered: 24-04-06

Posts: 696

Re: What is Good?

What is good?
What does it mean to be good?
What does it mean to do good things?
Who are good people?

Very interesting question. In an amazing bit of synchronicity, I'm just now in the middle of reading Nick Hornby's novel How To Be Good... about which I'll likely post in the book rant thread when I'm done.

As to the question... hmmm... I know I've done things that are not good, and I've failed to do good things I ought to have done, and in many banal ways (and a few not-so-banal ones) I fall short of goodness in my daily life... yet I still feel like I am, at base, a good person. Maybe this is just a self-comforting delusion, but maybe....

I'm not an engineer, but I work with them in my job, and they have an expression: "The perfect is the enemy of the good." Maybe this is true in personal ethics as well as in engineering development. Certainly in Hornby's book, the guy who's trying to "be good" to a high degree of perfection ends up making rather a pain of himself. (Or at least that's how it's looking so far; I'll let you know...) Maybe being good is something slightly different than the net total of good things you do.

'tis a puzzlement!

blissed

Member

From: The bus station of the future

Registered: 17-03-06

Posts: 5,622

Re: What is Good?

What's good changes over human history. A Slave owner who treated their slaves well thought of themselves as good. So you have your upbringing and that conditions your subconscious and gives you a gut feeling when something is bad or not, but on top of that you have a fair bit of conscious choice in this area so you can condition yourself and change your relative opinions of what is good and bad.  As we create our own lives, it's up to each of us to choose whats good and bad. As to any religious or divine perspective, I see no evidence for an external intelligent mentor to hold our hand except of course for the Spaghetti monster who's existence is obvious and I laugh in the face of anyone who says otherwise ha ha ha ha ha

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(Self made tycoon and independant financial advisor to the stars)

st_weinblatt

Member

Registered: 02-05-06

Posts: 19

Re: What is Good?

1. What is good?

1a. Good is wisdom guiding compassion.

2. What does it mean to be good?

2a. It means doing compassionate deeds wisely.

3. What does it mean to do good things?

3a.  See 2a.

4. Who are good people?

4a.  People who do compassionate deeds wisely.

5. What makes these people good?

5a. Doing compassionate deeds wisely.

6.If someone calls you a good person, can you believe them?

6a. If you are good, yes.

7.Do the good always finish last?

7a. No.

8. If so, why?

8a. See 7a.

Glad to be of help!

Siobhan

Member

Registered: 15-06-06

Posts: 823

Re: What is Good?

thank you, st weinblatt! excellent.

i'm off to work on my compassion. . . ciao for now!

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Under all speech that is good for any-thing there lies a silence that is better.  Silence is as deep as Eternity;  speech is as shallow as Time.--Thomas Carlysle

kirejos

Member

From: New York

Registered: 20-07-06

Posts: 457

Re: What is Good?

What is good?
What does it mean to be good?
What does it mean to do good things?
Who are good people?
What makes these people good?
If someone calls you a good person, can you believe them?
Do the good always finish last?
If so, why?

"It is very hard to be simple enough to be good." -Ralph Waldo Emerson

kirejos

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Words tend to be inadequate -Jenny Holzer

bodyhead

Member

From: Boudicca country, UK

Registered: 03-06-06

Posts: 211

Re: What is Good?

The word 'good' is historically tied up with the word 'goods'. Good people at various times and places have been those who have the most 'goods' - i.e. are rich.
The word is still tainted in that way - it's much easier for rich people to be 'good' because they don't have to worry about survival.

gala

bonanza jellybean of state

From: melbizzy

Registered: 11-04-06

Posts: 1,553

Website

Re: What is Good?

hey kirejos - your avatar is really cute!

padraic

Member

Registered: 27-05-06

Posts: 127

Re: What is Good?

1. What is good?

1a. Good is wisdom guiding compassion.

2. What does it mean to be good?

2a. It means doing compassionate deeds wisely.

I love this. It sounds so much like the Buddhism that has so much influenced me --- has it also influenced you? What do any of us consider the strongest influences on our (evolving) adult values and ethics?

kirejos

Member

From: New York

Registered: 20-07-06

Posts: 457

Re: What is Good?

hey kirejos - your avatar is really cute!

Thanks! But I was hoping you were gonna' say it's really GOOD.

I had a girlfriend once that wrote a song about masturbating while riding her bike. She was a real blast, and would play it for people on her ukelele.

kirejos

psst- critical mass starting..............NOW!

P.S.- Looks like you're ready to saddle-up, ha ha.

Last edited by kirejos (11-10-06 06:32:40)

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Words tend to be inadequate -Jenny Holzer

bodyhead

Member

From: Boudicca country, UK

Registered: 03-06-06

Posts: 211

Re: What is Good?

1. What is good?

1a. Good is wisdom guiding compassion.

2. What does it mean to be good?

2a. It means doing compassionate deeds wisely.

I love this. It sounds so much like the Buddhism that has so much influenced me --- has it also influenced you? What do any of us consider the strongest influences on our (evolving) adult values and ethics?

Money still, of course.

Unless you mean personally - Realise that this is a bad world,  there's no way of living right, that ethical events are fugitive, and the only way things are going to change is if we are all prepared to look reality right in the eye.
Be kind to the children and your lover.

Siobhan

Member

Registered: 15-06-06

Posts: 823

Re: What is Good?

Realise that this is a bad world,  there's no way of living right, that ethical events are fugitive, and the only way things are going to change is if we are all prepared to look reality right in the eye.
Be kind to the children and your lover.

Wow.  wow.

Incidentally, there's some awfully good writing and thinking going on across the forum tonight.

What are you guys smoking?

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Under all speech that is good for any-thing there lies a silence that is better.  Silence is as deep as Eternity;  speech is as shallow as Time.--Thomas Carlysle

The_West_Wind

Member

From: Australia

Registered: 20-05-06

Posts: 331

Re: What is Good?

hey kirejos - your avatar is really cute!

I think this is the shortest thing that Gala has ever written.

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Well... there was nothing in my dark side that really interested me. I guess I just dont have what it takes to be a bad guy.

The_West_Wind

Member

From: Australia

Registered: 20-05-06

Posts: 331

Re: What is Good?

Unless you mean personally - Realise that this is a bad world,  there's no way of living right, that ethical events are fugitive, and the only way things are going to change is if we are all prepared to look reality right in the eye.
Be kind to the children and your lover.

That depends on who's reality we are ment to face. One's definition of good differs from someone elses as they create their reality. As they must live in your reality, you too must live in theirs.
There is no reality beyond what we can percieve. I question this as much as I question what is good.
I just live.

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Well... there was nothing in my dark side that really interested me. I guess I just dont have what it takes to be a bad guy.

blissed

Member

From: The bus station of the future

Registered: 17-03-06

Posts: 5,622

Re: What is Good?

I love a forum where you can ponder the great questions of life,
and arseplay http://www.ifeelmyself.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=792

.

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(Self made tycoon and independant financial advisor to the stars)

st_weinblatt

Member

Registered: 02-05-06

Posts: 19

Re: What is Good?

(Siobhan) Thank you, very much!

(Padraic) Thank you very much, too!  In regard to your question, Buddhism is indeed, of course, vitally concerned with compassion - after all, compassion is  the reason the Buddha didn't simply just Leave after he obtained enlightenment.  Personally, I do not resonate a lot with (to describe it, I know, _very_ briefly) Buddhism's rejection of the world, or Buddhism's goal of the utter dissolution of one's Self.  I prefer to "tune the string" (to borrow from the story, of course) _much_ less tightly than that.  But that's just me.

padraic

Member

Registered: 27-05-06

Posts: 127

Re: What is Good?

(Siobhan) Thank you, very much!

(Padraic) Thank you very much, too!  In regard to your question, Buddhism is indeed, of course, vitally concerned with compassion - after all, compassion is  the reason the Buddha didn't simply just Leave after he obtained enlightenment.  Personally, I do not resonate a lot with (to describe it, I know, _very_ briefly) Buddhism's rejection of the world, or Buddhism's goal of the utter dissolution of one's Self.  I prefer to "tune the string" (to borrow from the story, of course) _much_ less tightly than that.  But that's just me.

You're very welcome!
Western Buddhist teachers often think that the Buddha was somewhat misunderstood. From what I've read, I think they would say that he didn't completely reject all aspects of the world --- he just identified the ways in which *incorrect* ideas of how to be happy will actually make us more miserable, until we identify and change them. For example, not that sensual pleasure is bad in and of itself, but the unending and obsessive pursuit of it cannot lead to serenity and happiness. I see what you mean, though. Personally I too have a hard time with what Buddhism calls 'anatta' or no-self: the idea that none of us really has an essential 'self' to begin with, that this is an illusion since all phenomena including ourselves are the result of particular and constantly changing conditions. I also believe that too much of typical Buddhist teaching is negative: far too much focus on suffering. But for me I still haven't found another approach that embodies as much wisdom and compassion. But as the Buddha said, don't believe him or any other teacher just on faith; try out the practice, and take what's useful to you and leave the rest behind. Whatever leads to more compassion in the world is fine with me. Wow --- pretty heavy thread for a forum that's usually on the light-hearted side!

stammering

Member

Registered: 27-08-06

Posts: 72

Re: What is Good?

To know what good is we need bad.  Otherwise how can we tell the difference?

bodyhead

Member

From: Boudicca country, UK

Registered: 03-06-06

Posts: 211

Re: What is Good?

Unless you mean personally - Realise that this is a bad world,  there's no way of living right, that ethical events are fugitive, and the only way things are going to change is if we are all prepared to look reality right in the eye.
Be kind to the children and your lover.

That depends on who's reality we are ment to face. One's definition of good differs from someone elses as they create their reality. As they must live in your reality, you too must live in theirs.
There is no reality beyond what we can percieve. I question this as much as I question what is good.
I just live.

I think we might finally agree that there's an objective reality when millions - not just thousands - of people are dying because of global warming, sea levels rise to cause large areas of land to be flooded, most of the rest is desert, and species extinction has caused our food chain to collapse.

Last edited by bodyhead (13-10-06 05:17:51)

drinksun

Member

From: Atlanta, GA

Registered: 13-10-06

Posts: 26

Re: What is Good?

A simple state of grace.

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Hey pretty baby come get high with me...
we can go to my sisters if we say we'll watch the baby
The look on your face yanks my neck on the chain
...and I would do anything to see you again

Journeyfan

Member

From: Yorkshire England

Registered: 16-04-06

Posts: 151

Re: What is Good?

A simple state of grace.

Drinksun

I was fascinated by the lyrics quoted in your signature and was going to post to see where they were from, however I thought I would just try "googling" first - came up with Neko Case - " Star Witness".

From there I visited her website and have just listened to the two tracks featured there. Wow! i absolutely love them! - Why I have never heard of her before I don't know.

Calls for a trip to the local music emporium tomorrow methinks!!!

Thank you 

JF

P.S. For anyone else remotely interested, here's a link to Neko Case's website where you can here the tracks for yourself:
http://www.nekocase.com/music/

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"Crying to the sky .... searching for a silver lining,
Hoping that the clouds I'm climbing aren't hiding rain."

Bill Nelson - "Crying To The Sky"

drinksun

Member

From: Atlanta, GA

Registered: 13-10-06

Posts: 26

Re: What is Good?

And oh, the way she sings those four lines....

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Hey pretty baby come get high with me...
we can go to my sisters if we say we'll watch the baby
The look on your face yanks my neck on the chain
...and I would do anything to see you again

Journeyfan

Member

From: Yorkshire England

Registered: 16-04-06

Posts: 151

Re: What is Good?

And oh, the way she sings those four lines....

Quite agree Drinksun - she has an excellent, yet distinctive voice.

BTW I did call to the CD store at the weekend and picked up her "Fox Confessor Brings The Flood" and "Blacklisted" CDs ... have only had chance for one listen each so far - initial impressions are very favourable

I am thinking of ordering her "Live In Austin Texas" DVD .... have you seen it? and if so would you recommended it?

Thanks again.

JF

P.S. Sorry  - I know these last couple of posts may be more appropriate under the "Currently Listening to Thread" - it was just that I picked up the lyrics from Drinksun's post on this thread. Please transfer the posts over if you wish .... although it may be not that far off topic after all - Neko Case's music seems pretty "good" to me!

Last edited by Journeyfan (16-10-06 23:17:22)

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"Crying to the sky .... searching for a silver lining,
Hoping that the clouds I'm climbing aren't hiding rain."

Bill Nelson - "Crying To The Sky"

Burlesque

Member

From: Sweden

Registered: 04-05-06

Posts: 1,368

Re: What is Good?

Good = anything that makes life bearable and doesn't bother others.

Burlesque.

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Maintain a sense of humour about it, whatever "it" is.

"Max Fan Club" Head of Security and In-house Sycophant. (Who says evil can't be a full-time occupation?)