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Re: Good vs. Evil
Posted By: Sam, on host 24.62.250.124
Date: Wednesday, January 22, 2003, at 14:48:27
In Reply To: Good vs. Evil posted by Mike, the penny-stamp man on Wednesday, January 22, 2003, at 14:12:03:

> I'm not a mathematical wiz, so i do not claim to work perfect theorems or syllogisms. Please help me with my logic.

I think the problem is that this is over-philosophized to the point of impracticality. What does it mean for good or evil to be "greater" than the other?

The way I've used the terms in this thread, "good" is obeying God, and "evil" is disobeying God. Given that God's commands are consistent with each other, you can absolutely have a universe in which God is never obeyed, and you can absolutely have a universe in which God is always obeyed.

Likewise, pretty much any system of morals in which there are moral absolutes -- whether or not these moral absolutes can be absolutely determined by humans -- allows for good and evil to exist in the absence of the other.

On the other hand, if you're a moral relativist and believe that nothing is absolutely "good" or "evil" only good or evil relative to other things, then good does indeed require evil and vice versa, for good and evil cannot be defined except with respect to the other.

But either way, I don't see how a term like "greater" can apply to either without being defined more specifically.

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