There is no such thing as good or evil, there are only those with power and the will to use it. There are several reasons for this being true, most importantly the fact that cultural differences dictate that there can be no universally accepted set of morals and ethics. By good, we mean something that people consider to be morally or ethically right. By evil we mean the exact opposite of good, i.e. something the people consider to be morally or ethically wrong. When we talk about whether or not there is a good or evil, we mean in a definitive, universally accepted sense.
In different cultures there may be a widely accepted set of morals and ethics by which people are expected to live their lives, but there is no set of morals or ethics accepted by every single person alive. Therefore there can be no such thing as a definitive good or evil as opinions vary from person to person. An example of one group of people living by a set of morals which they think makes them “good” whilst others consider their actions to be “evil” is that of the Nazi regime headed by Adolf Hitler in the 1930’s and 40’s. Hitler and his followers believed that Judaism was a menace to society and the eradication of all Jews would make the world a better place. They felt that what they were doing was indeed “good”. However, it is widely believed that Hitler and the Nazis’ actions were some of the most “evil” actions in the history of mankind. This shows us clearly that not all people agree on the same things as being good or evil, but rather opinion differs from person to person. This means that there is no such thing as “good” or “evil”, just different morals and ethics followed by individuals.
The Term Paper on Critical analysis of Good Country People by Flannery O’ Connor
Good Country People is one of the most sought after works of Flannery O’ Connor. It is said to be the biography of O’Connor but she never claimed it to be such. The novel Good Country People seems to reflect the current situation and emotional status of O’ Connor while she was writing the novel, and if it is not in fact her biography, her emotion at that time has influenced the novel greatly. ...
One may argue that every human being has a common sense of what is good or bad instilled in them their whole lives. It is this instinctive set of morals and ethics that has ensured humanity has always been consistently filled with society and civilisation based on common ethics and/or morals in the form of laws and rules. It may be argued that if every person had a differing sense of good or evil, it would be impossible for there to be civilised society throughout the world, all through times, dating back to the beginning of human history. Differing sets of morals between individuals would make the transition between different cultures almost impossible for people to make as their perceptions of what is right or wrong would have to be completely reshaped to adjust to a new way of life.
If the argument put forward in the previous paragraph were true, there would be no need for laws and rules to exist and be enforced as they are and have been for the entire existence of humanity. If every single human had the same set of ethics and morals, people would not do “bad” things. People only consider things to be either good or bad based on their own opinions and thus the determining of whether something is good or bad is just the comparison of one’s opinions and morals to another’s. If everyone had the same view on what is right or wrong there would be no criminals. Criminals have always been a part of society and they are a reminder that not everyone shares the same ethics and morals or opinions of what is right or wrong.
This shows us very clearly that there is no such thing as “good” or “evil”, as such. Merely there are personally ethics, morals, and opinions. To say that there is only power and those with the will to use it would not be at all incorrect. This is as close as we can get to a definitively correct statement regarding the existence of good and evil.
