To begin with, it should be noted that good and evil are obvious antonyms. They are mutually exclusive. It is easy to give a couple of such concepts: it is enough to draw an analogy with illness and he alth.
Evil is relative
These concepts are multifaceted and therefore relative. What is “good” and “evil” cannot be defined unambiguously and precisely.
Discussions about good and evil have been going on for a long time, since the time of the ancient Greek philosophers. This problem haunts many minds in our time. An individual will not be able to define good and evil, guided only by public opinion. In fact, it is meaningless due to the different views of different age, social and other groups. Each of us may have a different view of such concepts, which is why, as mentioned earlier, they are multifaceted.
It's no secret that a person, performing this or that action, first of all worries about not creating problems for himself. Other people are interested in him already in the second place. If the act has a negative connotation, the person tries to do it in such a way as to present it in the best light.
Don't forget about selfishness, which is present in each of us to some extent. He is the reason thatideas about evil and good are changing. In the minds of some people, evil is the commission of criminal acts. In the minds of others, crimes are not evil, because they are justified by this very selfishness.
Good and Evil
One of the concepts of good can be traced with the help of the following comparisons. Let the world be like an ordinary human body. In this case, there should be no doubt that it consists of cells. There is a negative action that destroys a particular cell. Then it will begin to destroy the body further, a chain reaction will start.
Thus, we can draw the appropriate conclusion: in order to achieve good, all world systems, its constituent elements must interact with each other to the extent that they will only have a positive impact, without destruction. Then the harmonious relations between the parts of the world can be called good. And evil is a manifestation of a violation of harmonic bonds.
How is the fight going?
The struggle between good and evil takes place not only on a global scale, but also in the smallest format: in our minds. It is impossible to trust the reasoning of an individual person on this matter, since everyone has a certain view and a certain point of view on a particular issue.
Let's try again to give an example so that everything falls into place. The topic of smoking, which has already been traveled far and wide, clearly demonstrates the current situation. Most people who don't smoke consider this process to be evil. Proof of? Smoking has a detrimental effect on the he alth of the individual. Few? Smoking has a negative impact on the he alth of the children of the smoker, if he decides to have them (and the probability of this is quite high). What are the children guilty of?
Approximately this train of thought is embedded in the head of almost every non-smoker. However, smokers in many situations try to defend themselves and say that the process of smoking allows you to calm your nerves, relax, and so on. And so it turns out that for some people smoking acts as an evil, and for others - as a good and salvation. And this is just one of the examples that can be given on this issue.
What is the contradiction?
Understanding good and evil is as much a hot topic as it is an eternal question about the meaning of life. The contradiction of concepts is determined, most likely, by the cultural principles and mores characteristic of a particular period. Again, we rest on the need to present a clear example that can clearly demonstrate the situation. Fortunately, many of them have accumulated in history, but we will turn to a fairly striking example that connects the Soviet era with our days.
As you know, in Soviet times it was believed that a terrible evil is to take the currency and exchange it on the market. In addition, various kinds of speculation, as well as attempts to speculate, caused a corresponding reaction on the part of society. Now, no one is saying that this is unacceptable. With the passage of time, principles and customs have changed. And with them changedand the concept of evil.
Concepts of good and evil at present
An evil person in the minds of modern people is presented as a kind of attacker who has committed a criminal act, or as a person who has a bad character. This also includes regular use of alcohol, inadequacy, constant use of obscene language in speech. You can list a dozen or two more criteria that can describe an evil person.
The line between good and evil is not really clear cut. Moreover, these two opposite concepts can in some cases be mixed up. If a she-wolf killed one animal in order to feed her children, is it good or evil? A very difficult question. The same is true in many other cases. At first glance, a kind person can, through inaction, contribute to the commission of absolutely terrible deeds.
All this is the reason that philosophers continue to argue about evil and good in our time. It is unlikely that the issue will cease to be relevant in tens and hundreds of years.
