BAD AND GOOD

Evil is a product of religious dogma.  According to various so-called holy scriptures, committing a sin is going against God’s wishes.  The worst sins are those inspired by the devil, which are designated as being evil.  The contrast between good and evil exists only in a religious sense.  For a determination of what is, and is not, a sin with respect to the three major religions, it is necessary to consult the Torah, the Bible, or the Koran.  God, as interpreted by the high priests, lets us know what we can and cannot do.

Once God is removed from the equation, humans are left to their own devices to decide what is bad and what is good.  Most people get a bad feeling when they think about hurting someone or stealing their property.  This stems from the realization that it would be unpleasant to get hurt or lose your own belongings.  At the same time, making somebody else happy gives you a good feeling, because that is how you yourself would like to be treated. 

Behavior modes are instilled in children at an early age as a way of preserving society.  Tribes determined early on that all of its members would be better off if they worked together.  At the same time, those who went against the wishes of tribal elders were either killed or became outcasts.  Thus, engaging in mutually beneficial acts became a survival mechanism.

The most important determinant of what constitutes a good or bad act is how people and the world we live in are affected by it.  If you make yourself happy, without hurting anybody else in the process, this is good.  If you deliberately injure yourself or someone else, or you destroy useful things, this is bad.  No action that is enjoyable and does no short or long term harm to others is bad, while human behavior that hurts others or makes the world a worse place to live in is not good, regardless of any short term benefits to the individuals or groups perpetrating the behavior.

Society has attempted to codify bad and good behavior by establishing laws that it attempts to enforce.  The mark of a good civilization is a legal structure which permits everyone to live in relative harmony without being abused or in danger of losing their property.  That which is good for the individual becomes that which is good for the entire group.  People who adhere to the law are permitted to prosper, while renegades are punished.  When the laws of a nation are generally beneficial to all, and officials have not become corrupt, no priestly interpretations are needed for people to understand how they should best lead their lives.