₦airaland Forum

Why would I wanna join an Organisation and overcomplicate my life all over again? One of the very reason that facilitated my self-exile from Christiandom is prevailing among the very people that calls themselves free thinkers?? SMH

I prefer my freedom and flexibility, thank you very much!

Reyginus: Even if we succeed in answering this question we still have to go a step further. Let me explain.

When a group of people come together to plan and execute a vice, let's say they rob a shop, their unity in this place cannot be said to be good because in robbing the place they have taken what is not due to them. In this light the good cannot be best for a group.

On the other hand, if a man decides to reduce the value of the general for the promotion of his life we cannot say that good is best for him.

What I am trying to show with these two examples is that the good is neither 'best' when it benefits the single or the group but when it benefits the good person or people. I had to put that in quotation because the idea of qualifying good with best, qualifying a qualification, suggests that there is the tendency of arriving at a good good and good bad contradiction.

It is like acting to please a single person who is not good or a group that is not good. We are to act in the way of the good and not for an individual or group.

You're not seeing the bigger picture...

An opposing side is generally seen as evil, and whoever rises above their enemies becomes the good guy just because they are more powerful and their ways are more understood, like in WWII all the German soldiers would not have fought so hard and risked life and limb like that thinking they were the bad guys! Which begs another question:

"Do the Bad guys know they are the bad guys or are they only bad if they lose?"

All I'm saying is that plenty of evil or bad things are very well ordered. I think history shows that in their perverse logic,the Nazis thought they were doing good for the German people. We judge that logic as madness but in-itself it was ordered.

In a cold logical sense, we should eliminate 60% of the Earth's surplus population because there's not enough resources to go around. Obviously, it can be interpreted as an evil idea but in a world divorced from absolutes it makes perfect sense.

Reyginus: Remember that we may be termed a thing that we are not. It is why we are objecting that makes it either of the two. This was why I had to begin by asking your understanding of what is the truth.

I don't see any problem in saying that good is really or that bad is really bad. If the purpose for doing a thing is for the propagation of human life, like you said, then it is good. And vice versa. Or maybe their is an angle I am yet to look at it from. It would do well if you show me.

Confused.

Reyginus: That is why I had to talk about the intent. It is your
intention for doing a thing that makes it good or evil. The uses then becomes the promotion of human life and the destruction of it.

Now to the problem of Ethical Relativism. You forget, my friend, that for anything to be logical it has to follow a principle that doesn't permit contradiction. It doesn't have to be 'yes and no' but 'yes' or 'no'. If you have any problem with this you can let me know.

Subjectivism permits the making of contrary statements about a thing. It even permits a room for objectivism since it all depends on what the individual thinks is right. With a subjective morality, you can make a claim that it is what you think about what is good that is good, and be right, and I can also claim that it is not what I think of good that is good, but what is really done out of good intention, and be right too. You see the weakness of Subjectivism?

By the time we are through with Subjectivism we must have seen if good and evil exist or not.

You could define all actions as evil, in that sense Good is not actually present, all actions that exist below it are intrinsically less Good or evil. I think everyone can see why I prefer evil relative good/Good instead of the whole system being evil due to lack of Good; either way its the same thing.

I define Evil (operationally) as the wish to harm mankind either individually or collectively. If you accept this definition, not only does evil exist but it's all over the place.

Okay, but let's refine that.

1) Is merely a 'wish' evil, or does it require action?
2) What about harming one to save several?
3) Which brings us back to (1), because, while you can 'wish' to save both the individual AND the several, in reality, inaction will lead to more deaths. You must act. Now, is choosing to harm one, evil? Cops take deliberate action to harm individuals. Clearly, the definition requires more subtlety.

Different ship, same difference. "Center" and "Centre" are one and the same, just a minor difference in spelling, that's all.

Dog Cruelty 101. Killing the dog is not only inhumane but foolish, cuz the unfortunate dog was only respecting the wishes of it's master. How can you kill something that cannot think on it's own? Africans and their primitive ways...

Reiyvinn: Hello Nairalanders,

I've been going through a lot lately and it's been a source of bother to me.

Something keeps echoing in me that perhaps, there may be a God out there and that I may have really hurt with the things I've been posting lately so I think I just want to be on the safe side just in case there happens to be a "Last Day" (if you know what I mean) thus I think I want to leave Atheism; I feel it's too much of a delusion on me.

As an atheist, you mustn't burden yourself with all the delusions of grandeur associated with Religion and all of it's implications. That's the beauty of Atheism. But when you, and I quote "feel it's too much of a delusion on me", then maybe, you and atheism were never compatible to begin with, and... you shouldn't refer to yourself as one.

-Option D is ideal. A rehabilitation program should be set up to help those people. Isolate and try to teach them how to suppress the evil urge whenever it surges up. Then assimilate them into communities that are devoid of children and monitor them for a period of 5 to 8 years, then allow them to go back into the real world -- Only possible in fully developed countries with organised labor and manpower, though.

In 3rd world countries, Option B and C would be ideal.

sholay2011: The truth is these shows are funny in different kinda ways.

My favourite on the list isn't the 'funniest' though: 'Orange is the new black'. But it's my best.

"Orange Is The New Black" is funny but in a dark kind of way-ish. In the same league as "Californication."

Tried watching "Devious Maid" but found it too Telenovela-ish, so I opted instead for "Witches Of East End" Don't like it either, but since it's probably the only show airing right now I haven't either watched or shunned, I'm stuck with it.

Reyginus: But don't you think such is what a good thing really seeks?

Or I think it be put that the intent for an action is what determines if it is good or bad.

Let's put it this way: It is how it benefits you, in view with the whole. If good is just what benefits you, then it is only based on your Point-Of-View, but if it is how it benefits the whole, then it has some absolutes. Take for instance, if you kill any one who disagrees with you, and have the power to not get in trouble, then what you do is good in your POV, but bad to most others. But if good means to benefit what benefits everyone,then your actions are not good because in the end, the majority will be hurt.

So in the end, the real question becomes this: Can good benefits a single person best, or benefit the group?

Reyginus: If we are to base this on what you classify, and you classify all actions irrespective of the intent behind them, wouldn't this contradict your original stance that their is no good or evil?

Not really. The problem is, how to say good is really good and bad is really bad. In my posts I have mentioned the higher thoughts, and I have mentioned some examples. The world we are living in teaches us about good and evil. Now can we just throw away all years of this teaching. It is impossible. What I'm trying to say, is that good and evil is only of cultural and belief derivation.The whole thing is a mirror of the human nature. If all the world population say YES and I say NO, instantly I will be termed "evil."

Reyginus: Secondly, if we are to go anywhere the mistake we wouldn't want to make is judging from appearance. Some things may appear good but they are not good.

Do you think that truth is objective or subjective?

But what uses make it "good", and what uses make it "evil"?

Good and evil is all subjective, and the majority rules on this. Majority of people think: Killing is bad. Suicide is bad. Rape is bad. People are only judged insane because they disagree with what the majority of the world says.

I remember, in the movie "Sin City", there was a kid who ate people because it "brought him closer to God". He thought it was good, others thought it was bad, and he was classified as insane. What if, in a strange way, we're all insane on some scale? If we all disagree about something, that'd be unsolvable.

A quick Learner. Excellent.

Reyginus: Yes, still very much around. Welcome back.

Glad to be back.

Reyginus: You defined the good as what is due to the stronger and evil as the penalty for being weak. I suspect that you are building your argument with the insufficiency of Ethical Relativism. What I noticed, a slight oversight on your part, is that you didn't attempt to question the integrity of this concept and ended up creating the argument we are dealing with now.

I think we should first clearify the 'fact' in your op, that a thing is good because it pleases the stronger and the weak must suffer evil because they are weak.

Since this happens almost every time and changes sides once the strength of the party changes, it is really evident that within these periods of swapping, the good and bad contradicts each other. An important question. If a thing is really true, will it keep changing as the people in whose life it reveals itself changes?

The problem is that we do not have any set definition for good or evil...for instance if the definition of good was "increasing the propagation of the human race" and evil was something that did the opposite, then it would be very clear that there is a difference. Moral relativism 101.

Reyginus: That brings us to what is true. If a thing is true it will always remain so though our perception of it might change. I think we should begin with, what really is good and bad in their truest form?

Do you think that a thing is true because a person thinks it is?

I classify all actions as being good. However, some actions appear as relative evil due to the lack of Good within the system. So evil appears relative to good due to lack of Good.

Ray is my first name, obviously. The McBlue part is a family nickname because of my earlier year's obsession with the colour "Blue."

Kendzyma: Can we also say evil iz d absence of Good? And vice versa?since both doesnt exist and er dependent on each oda

Exactly. I couldn't have surmised it better myself.

Reyginus: My friend is back. wow!! What's up with you, Ray?

I will respond to your thread once you reply me.

Same old same old. So you are still around??

From a purely scientific point of view, I would think that man defines good and evil and society uses whatever definition that corresponds with the general CONSENSUS. What may be considered "good" to one person may be considered "evil" to another.

For example, some Muslims believe that it is "GOOD" and acceptable for a woman to marry as young as 9 years old, IF she has reached puberty, whereas here in the Western World, even IF a 9 year old has reached puberty (which I would assume is quite rare), she is STILL a child and NOT old enough to be married. Any man who would even CONSIDER marrying a 9 year old would be himself considered an "EVIL" pedophile.

tosag: Do you believe in witchcraft?

Assuming a walked into a barrack, grab the nearest soldier by the throat and punched him. The Soldier would Probably maim you on the spot cuz by attacking the soldier you provoked him deliberately.

But was it the right thing or the wrong thing to do? Was it really? Your moral compass tells you it's the wrong thing, but your survival instinct tells you to run all the same. What does that tell you?

Some would argue that the above is the core ideology of atheists. The very ideology that formed Sodom and Gomorrah where men could even sleep with beasts.

There is no clear definition of evil in the real world. What you call Unnatural sex between two people of the same gender is quite natural to the perpetrators. Dolphins practise gay sex all the time, yet you don't see anybody judging them. What you may call taboo or Inbreeding is nothing but expression of love between siblings or Parents and offsprings accordingly. Infact, Chimpanzees are notorious for their incestious relationships, and Dogs too. Yet people still keep them as pets.

The point I'm trying to make is that, moral code aside, the definition of the term Evil is blurry.

https://eyecontactsite.com/media/thumbs/uploads/2012_08/Armwrestling_jpg_940x2000_q85.jpg

-Many people see this world as Good VS Evil. To them it's either it's black or it's white, simple as that.

-When they go to Church every Sunday, their Pastors or Priests are quick to point out the wrongs of other people.
-When they go to their Mosque every Friday, their Imams are quick to encourage them to kill Infidels.
-At the end of the day it's basically Evil vs Good with both sides of the party claiming to be the good guys.

Well, News flash people, it's not that simple. What is good or evil exists only in our minds. Does killing a person makes you bad, or rendering good service to the community makes you good? What is considered good or bad?

Take for instance, you committed a hit-and-run, and the victim eventually wounds up dead. On further investigation by the police a startling revelation is uncovered; that the victim was the notorious elusive serial killer terrorizing the city! Now, can that incident be construed as An Act Of God or just plain murder? You will discover that if such an incident occurs near your area of abode, there will be no definitive answer from your neighbours. Some would argue that Murder is murder, while some would prefer the Act Of God theory. Both would be wrong.

Evil and Good doesn't exist to my best of knowledge. People should stop looking for black and white and start looking for the Grey areas. What do I mean by Grey areas? You can only begin to understand the concept of it when you open up your mind to really see what is out there, when your judgmental nature stops controlling your actions, when you stop categorizing the world as North vs south, or East vs West, when you drop your me-against-the-world mindset. What you might classify as bad news is good news to another person. Now, does that make him/her evil because he/she is rejoicing at the misfortune of another? That is the grey area.

When Germany won the World Cup at the expense of Argentina, many Argentines didn't sleep that night because of grief, while the stark contrast was witnessed in Germany. By every indication then, on the rules of Good vs evil, 98% Germany committed evil that very night by daring to celebrate while their fellow human beings were dying with grief, right? That is the grey area.

When you start to analyse it all like this, you will realise that Good and Evil don't really exist in the real world. There are no right or wrong, just the consequences of your action.

Humblebloke: Yh rt.... I jus hope they don't cancel season 3

Don't worry, Season 3 just got renewed and will be premiering next year.

Iceman296: I've Finished Black Sail S1. Its just there, Couldn't even recommend it to anyone here.

I hope the S2 would be Better.

Loved the show. Compared with "Crossbones", it's more dynamic and authentic and hardly censored since it's of premium cable origin. I love uncensored TV shows as a rule cuz it can get pretty rowdy and crazy in there. Remember "Spartacus?" Well, "Black Sails" is almost as Rowdy.

Just did a quick Google check...

"Mara Clara" is a Filipino Soap Opera (Telenovela), in other words, a TV drama series. Consistently referring to it as a Movie is not only wrong but misleading as well, cuz a typical movie doesn't come with Episodes and Seasons. Kapish?

adaobi123: Thanks for the insight.

No Worries.

dljbd1: What's the leftovers like? Rate it

2% of the world populace suddenly vanished into thin air leaving behind their loved ones and friends. This series deals with the life of the "Leftovers" as they try to cope with daily chores without their spouse, sons, daughters, fathers, mothers, aunts, uncles, cousins, and best friends. Basically, it's a Post-Rapture-ish TV Series.

The Show is very interesting once you adapt to the tone and tempo of the storyline. A classic HBO production.

Definitely a must see.

Currently dividing my free time between "The Leftovers" and "Black Sails."

adaobi123: Has anyone watched suits, hannibal or the blacklist ? I don't know which one to watch first.

If you are into mystery and horror, then give "Hannibal" a whirl, it's damn good. If you'd rather keep it simple then "Suit" is the right fit, it's hilarious. If you are into drama thrillers (action packed), then "The Blacklist" might appeal to you.

Summary:
-Suits: Comedy, Drama
-Hannibal: Mystery, Horror, Drama
-The Blacklist: Thriller, Political, Mystery, Drama

My personal favorite is "The Blacklist". It's highly entertaining cuz the suspense, drama and action never cease.

Sheesh! Dial it down a bit @suwailad. I know how irritating it can be when someone overhype a seemingly ordinary show, believe me, but the thread belongs to him, really. He created it. So it's within his right to gush all over the place about the "The Strain" so-far-as it's restricted within this page.

You can criticize his views and outline all the things you hate about the show if you want -- that's your right as a contributor, but attacking him personally is uncalled for and very immature on your part. #Peace

khanivorous: And what did you just gain from " find faults' in this awesome tv show...NOTHING

I learnt a lot, actually. At least, I can authoritatively surmise from what I've seen so far that it's a very flawed show and nowhere as plot tight and captivating as "The Walking Dead."

There are several Complete Korean Movies on YouTube.

prof800: EDIT: Do people still watch this show?

Truly baffling. I don't get the appeal of tuning in every week just to watch some talentless and entitled Armenian skanks live out a scripted fake life on TV.

decepticos: did u really write this off your head, if so that's quite cool, nice pointed out Plotholes after just two episodes(dat wan no men say I no go wash am though), could u also see Helix and Extant, would like ur(or the sources) opinnion on those two.

It's all moi, mate. I don't dig copy and paste. Not my style.

Have seen "Helix." My advice: If you haven't seen the show, don't bother. The whole plot is ridiculous right from the pilot to the season finale. Never knew Zombies can think, talk and coordinate their actions, until I watched the show. Made me to adore and appreciate "The Walking Dead" all the more.

Haven't seen "Extant"... not yet. Still engrossed in the HBO's "The Leftovers" and Starz's "Black Sails" at the moment.