Recurring thoughts.... things you hear people say, and are then surprised that you actually listened. I guess this is what happened to me, when I heard Goodman say (to paraphrase) - 'people are essentially good'. What a load of crap.
or is it? So this is what I have been thinking about recently: what does it mean to be a bad person.
It's almost a given, that most people consider themselves 'good' (defined here best by its negation, i.e. 'not bad'). And yet, most people will admit to doing 'bad' things, i.e. stealing, lying, cheating, etc. With the caveat that they do this on a small scale, and rarely - only when they are particularly angry, upset, lost control, emotional, 'not thinking clearly' blah blah. Additionally, most of the time, the 'bad' action is assessed so only in retrospection. Very few people consciously perform a bad act, i.e. with their 'super ego' monitoring the situation.
Most people think they are good, but will admit to sometimes doing bad things.
So then the question is, when do their/your actions begin to define who you are? When does a bad action make you bad? How many bad things do you have to do to become bad? Is that possible? Is there a tipping point? is it reversible?
I don't know. But I offer this as a possible measure - introspection. A person 'becomes bad' when no longer are their actions subject to the scrutiny of the super ego - or perhaps it drifts far away from the society that the person occupies. No one can live with themselves long thinking they are bad - it's a terrible stress on the psychologically, and physiologically. Consequently, something has to give, and it is either the persons actions, or their definition of them.
Ultimately, and fortunately (?) it's not really important whether you 'are' bad or good. What matters is how your actions reflect in the society that you live in, starting from your family society, friendship group, and of course the society at large. However, I do think that this is an important point to identify - people 'do' bad things.
Perhaps it is not possible to define a bad/good person, yet strangely this word combination exists in many languages, and is frequently used. It's a label that is applied to people all to thoughtlessly, and consequently has the potential to color/taint every subsequent action, as well as your reaction.
My final thought is that language is a powerful weapon, our own vocalisations mould our subconscious more than we would like (hence I'm typing! :)), we not only hear ourselves talk, we actually listen - so we should choose our words wisely.
or is it? So this is what I have been thinking about recently: what does it mean to be a bad person.
It's almost a given, that most people consider themselves 'good' (defined here best by its negation, i.e. 'not bad'). And yet, most people will admit to doing 'bad' things, i.e. stealing, lying, cheating, etc. With the caveat that they do this on a small scale, and rarely - only when they are particularly angry, upset, lost control, emotional, 'not thinking clearly' blah blah. Additionally, most of the time, the 'bad' action is assessed so only in retrospection. Very few people consciously perform a bad act, i.e. with their 'super ego' monitoring the situation.
Most people think they are good, but will admit to sometimes doing bad things.
So then the question is, when do their/your actions begin to define who you are? When does a bad action make you bad? How many bad things do you have to do to become bad? Is that possible? Is there a tipping point? is it reversible?
I don't know. But I offer this as a possible measure - introspection. A person 'becomes bad' when no longer are their actions subject to the scrutiny of the super ego - or perhaps it drifts far away from the society that the person occupies. No one can live with themselves long thinking they are bad - it's a terrible stress on the psychologically, and physiologically. Consequently, something has to give, and it is either the persons actions, or their definition of them.
Ultimately, and fortunately (?) it's not really important whether you 'are' bad or good. What matters is how your actions reflect in the society that you live in, starting from your family society, friendship group, and of course the society at large. However, I do think that this is an important point to identify - people 'do' bad things.
Perhaps it is not possible to define a bad/good person, yet strangely this word combination exists in many languages, and is frequently used. It's a label that is applied to people all to thoughtlessly, and consequently has the potential to color/taint every subsequent action, as well as your reaction.
My final thought is that language is a powerful weapon, our own vocalisations mould our subconscious more than we would like (hence I'm typing! :)), we not only hear ourselves talk, we actually listen - so we should choose our words wisely.
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