RE: Jenseits von Gut und Böse? Teil 2 | Beyond good and evil? pt 2
I think that when thought and intention intervene, everything fails. And we can no longer talk about goodness or good nature. Because nature is something original, it is essence, not thought. I have witnessed and experienced such goodness from such people who act without thinking, without weighing all the possibilities. I have only experienced something like this in Spain, where I claim that the most naturally kind and kind-hearted people live, who act without thinking.
The situation you describe is that of two people competing to see who can out-smash the other. And we're not talking about kindness, we're not even talking about manners. I've been in that situation, and it's as if you wrote this about me! My current neighbors haven't greeted me back in two and a half years.
I think there are norms in society that are good to have, elementary signs of politeness. If you cross them, you cross the line into aggression and intimidation, without even you accepting it that way. In most cases, pointless. That's why I don't accept the excuse: these are my rules. If everyone starts living by their own rules, we know what will happen, since more than half of the people on earth are inherently bad. On the other hand - "now I will greet him, just to annoy him" - this is also a sign of small-mindedness and is far from kindness.
Thank you for your comment and your thoughts!
It often looks to me too as if there are more people who are not interested in the good. But that can be deceptive!
Here are some thoughts on this:
If there are people who are evil by nature and other people who are not - or let's say the other way round (because the good is what counts): if there are people who are good by nature and other people who are not - where do I stand then? How can I recognise that? And above all - what can I do if I find myself on the side of those to whom I don't want to belong?
Is my ‘nature’ genetically determined, is it changeable, shapeable? If I find myself on the side of the good people and want to stay there - isn't that pure coincidence? Can I condemn someone who does bad things because they are bad - and that by their ‘nature’? If I were a judge, I would be bound by legal laws. What is the moral equivalent of such laws to which I see myself bound, to which I am perhaps even bound, and to which I can demand others to abide?
And if someone who is (apparently) inherently good does something that is (obviously) not good - what then? Don't we all know the saying (excuse?): ‘...but I only meant well!’ Is that enough?
Translated with DeepL.com (free version) and proofread by me
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