New answers tagged good-and-evil
1
"He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster"
Think of Quint in Jaws. His experience on the USS Indianapolis so affected him that the rest of his life became a quest to kill sharks. He became the monster he was seeking. He was obsessed like Captain Ahab.
There is also a good scene in "Manhunter" where Will Graham vists ...
0
If any morally good action is not spontaneous, is it truly morally good?
I give to a certain charity in a regular basis - it's part of my written budget, and I have auto-pay set up with my bank for it. I selected that charity in particular after considering what causes are important to me and researching the charity in question to make sure that they were ...
0
If someone does a morally good action because they fear God, which is
a selfish motive, surely this means it is not a morally selfless
action.
In the same way, if any morally good action is not spontaneous, is it
truly morally good?
This statement is controversial because according to the New Testament as told by Jesus Christ God is not to be feared ...
1
Welcome Arlo Curley
A good, stimulating question though I doubt if it can be answered except against the background of assumptions about the nature and character of God's activity. On which, I might add, there is not likely to be consensus even among Christians. Also I am going to suggest that the question is unanswerable non-circularly.
In other words, ...
-1
Aquinas was heavily influenced by Aristotle, and defined virtue as an ordering toward the good (ST 1-2 Q 57, A1, Reply)
He also defines the fear of God by saying, "in relation to God the evil of fault can come to us, if we are separated from Him: and in this way God can and ought to be feared" (ST 2-2, Q 19, A1 Answer).
The fear of God then is not a fear ...
-1
The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom...
is a well-known proverb from the old testament. Looking it up I find it interesting that there is a second clause
... and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
The first thing to note is fear is the beginning.
And it's evidently a good beginning
And then we move on...
To a unitary knowledge ...
-1
There are many debates about this. If you look at Nietzsche and Machiavelli, you'll see a great skepticism of the true motives of a lot of actions by Christian clergy, but says little about Christian church-goers and devotees and the altruistic acts they commit in God's name. It's mostly about the true motive.
-1
People sacrifice by nature.
You can work 80 hours a week and sacrifice for a paycheck.
Or play video games 80 hours a week and sacrifice for some pleasure.
Or balance it out.
Either way, considering the limited amount of time you have, you are sacrificing your times for a perceivable end.
Any message, in this case Christian, is a means of directing this ...
0
I would apply utilitarian morality and stay in the boat helping the 9 people that would sink if I leave. 9 lives are more important than my comfort of not having to work removing water from the sinking boat.
Categorical imperative: Define a moral axiom and execute it no matter the situation(e.g. I should always optimize my chances of surviving. Hence, swim ...
1
Practicality states that one should first help himself/herself before they can help others. If I swim to my friend that will increase my chance to survive but on the other hand decrease the chance of survival for others. This is the survival instinct of all living beings.
By the double side effect - I am not having any intention of harming any other human ...
Top 50 recent answers are included
