We hear and say the words "good" and "bad" very frequently. People mostly term a person good or bad based on something. But does the term "good" or "bad" really convey proper meaning?
Good and Bad are relative terms.
We all have some assumptions on what is good and what is bad. Say, I identify a person "X" as a "bad" person (based on some of my own assumptions of what I think as bad) and tell "Y" that person "X" is bad. Now, "Y" will have his own set of assumptions of what is bad, and he will imagine "X" accordingly.
We all have some assumptions on what is good and what is bad. Say, I identify a person "X" as a "bad" person (based on some of my own assumptions of what I think as bad) and tell "Y" that person "X" is bad. Now, "Y" will have his own set of assumptions of what is bad, and he will imagine "X" accordingly.
So, from the term "good" and "bad", we cannot exactly know the qualities of a person.
One person's "good" can be "bad" for another person.
Because we conclude good and bad based on our own assumptions, they may vary from person to person. An extrovert may see an introvert as a bad person, but another introvert may see him as good.
Because we conclude good and bad based on our own assumptions, they may vary from person to person. An extrovert may see an introvert as a bad person, but another introvert may see him as good.
This can be seen very frequently in case of our marriages. Relatives will often come up with some proposal for a girl saying "this girl is very good". Now, the boy imagines the "good" girl as per his assumptions and finally rejects the proposal after meeting her. It does not mean that the girl is actually not good, but it simply means that the criteria of goodness (and badness) is different for each person.
The concept of Good and bad may change over time even for the same person.
Since a person never remains the same all his life, his assumptions about good and bad may change over time. During our childhood, we inherit qualities mostly from our parents, we think those qualities as good. As we grow up, we start acquiring / changing qualities based on the persons we admire. As we mature, we again change our qualities based on our past experiences and life learnings. Hence, it's quite natural that what we think as good or bad, may not necessarily be the same in a different stage of life.
Since a person never remains the same all his life, his assumptions about good and bad may change over time. During our childhood, we inherit qualities mostly from our parents, we think those qualities as good. As we grow up, we start acquiring / changing qualities based on the persons we admire. As we mature, we again change our qualities based on our past experiences and life learnings. Hence, it's quite natural that what we think as good or bad, may not necessarily be the same in a different stage of life.
The concept of good and bad may vary based on culture.
In some culture, some way of behaviour may be termed as good (or bad), whereas the same behaviour may be seen as otherwise, in another culture.
In some culture, some way of behaviour may be termed as good (or bad), whereas the same behaviour may be seen as otherwise, in another culture.
So, it better to define persons / circumstances etc. in absolute terms rather than just good or bad.
We can say "he is soft-spoken, kind-hearted, hard-working guy" rather than saying "he is a good guy". This helps in getting rid of confusions and make things clearer.
We can say "he is soft-spoken, kind-hearted, hard-working guy" rather than saying "he is a good guy". This helps in getting rid of confusions and make things clearer.
The views posted here are entirely mine and they are not necessarily correct.
You are most welcome to differ to them. Please post your views as comment.
No comments:
Post a Comment