What is "good"?

When one is awaiting the answer to a question - or indeed, even when one has been posed a question and must respond - it is natural that one’s mind might wander whilst giving consideration to the reply.

Take, if you will, the question of “good”. When asked if one is “good”, there are many angles to consider. What is “good”? How does one know if one is “good”? Can “good” exist if “bad” does not, or is it simply the positive that exists only to provide balance to the scales of life?

I must confess that it is a question that I ponder frequently; it takes up much of my time and I have had many thoughts regarding the subject, inclined as I am to rumination and reflection in the quieter parts of the day when silence and solitude are my constant companions. In my youth, I was given more to the futile pursuit of fanciful things, of sunbeams and dust motes and flashy, gaudy toys than the quest for knowledge and understanding that now occupies my days. That is not to say that I had no concept of good, it has always been something of a concern to me that I be considered such but it is now, in the twilight of my years, that I find it to be a more pressing matter and so it is that I present to you my own thoughts on the question “Are you good?”

Firstly, we must explore the concept of good. What is it, and what does it mean to be good? I must state at the outset that I am answering the question in a purely atheistic manner, although I do concede that the interpretation and pursuit of good is at the core of many religions which has doubtless coloured our understanding and beliefs surrounding the matter. I do not ask the question “are you good?” as a precursor to any discussion about an afterlife or one’s worthiness of entry therein, but rather as a point of interest in order to better understand the idea itself.

It is my view that we should consider good as the opposite of bad, or evil if you will, rather than simply the absence of it; a positive cannot exist without its negative counterpart for reference for how does one value the joy of racing through open spaces if one does not have the comparison of the misery of being shut inside, or appreciate the companionship of presence if the loneliness of absence does not exist to define it? It is, furthermore, my belief that good is attainable in the everyday. In the small actions that make up a life, one can choose over and over to be good. The Stoics believed that virtue is the only good, that everything we face in life is a chance to respond with virtue and that everything else of importance will follow. In this way, we are introduced to the four Stoic virtues: Courage, Wisdom, Temperance and Justice.

For my part, I feel confident that I have exhibited courage throughout my life. Never once have I backed down from protecting those that I hold dear; in the darkest moments of the night, and when faced by far larger assailants I have unflinchingly laid my life on the line for those that I love, held firm and stared Death in the eyes. In this respect, I conclude that I possess the virtue of courage.

When contemplating the virtues of wisdom and temperance - the former being the knowledge of what is good and what is bad and what we ought to choose, and the latter being the “golden mean”, as Aristotle put it, between excess and deficiency - I find myself to be somewhat lacking. It is not to say that I do not know what is good and what is bad, or what it is that I ought to choose, it is that I must acknowledge my shortcomings in the sphere of temperance and that my hedonistic tendencies often lead me to forget what it is that I should choose and instead lure me down the path of misdeeds. It does not seem to be in my nature to be guarded against extremes, to remember that one cannot rely on the fleetingness of pleasure for happiness, nor to allow the fleetingness of pain to destroy it. It is alway with hindsight that I am able to apply my wisdom and see where my choices should have taken me. It may, however, also be argued that temperance is the knowledge that true abundance lies in having only what is essential, that by curbing your desires you will get what you need. By looking at it in this way, I find some solace. I do not desire much. I have everything I need and I do not crave more than what I have - a home, a family, food, love and warmth. I must only be wary where food is concerned that I am not tempted towards gluttony, or when presented with the opportunity to pursue something that is merely a diversion, that I recall that it is but a frivolous distraction from my sedate life.

I do not know if having good intentions is enough to be considered good in the realm of temperance, and I suspect that allowing my desires to better me even though I possess the wisdom to know what I ought to do may perhaps tip my scales towards bad. This is a source of worry and guilt for me.

Finally we must give thought to justice. Considered by Marcus Aurelius to be the source of all the other virtues, it is perhaps easier to understand by understanding what it means to act unjustly; simply, anything that inflicts injury or harms another being. I must here confess my shame that I have, in my time, caused various injuries to some very great friends. Each time I was forgiven, it being seen that I had not acted out of a desire to cause harm, but had allowed my passions and excitement to overcome me and blind me to the dangers of acting in excess. I take some comfort in the fact that I have received injury in the course of protecting my same friends from danger and have borne the pain courageously. After all, what use is courage if only used in self-interest? I seek always to be faithful, steadfast and true, and therefore I conclude that I possess the virtue of justice.

I must now ask myself: Is this enough to tip the balance in my favour to be considered good? I exhibit courage, I know right from wrong, I am sometimes given to excessive behaviours, which has on occasion caused harm to another, but I have never acted out of malice or ill-intent and have always sought to make reparations for injuries I have caused or misdemeanours I have committed. Are my good intentions sufficient to make me good? By the Stoics’ measure, I would cautiously suggest that my actions are virtuous, and that I may therefore consider myself to be good.

Another school of thought postulates that good and bad do not exist by nature, and therefore do not exist within the thing itself but rather all judgements of good and bad are relative to the one doing the judging. If one is both the “thing itself” and the judge, can one pass a judgement, or should the task be laid at the feet of another?

These are the thoughts that occupy my days and it is always a great relief to me when my friend returns home each evening to put my mind at rest, as I remember that the question “Who’s a good boy then?” seems to require no input from me, as that the answer is invariably “You are. You’re my good boy.” and that I may accept my treat and return to my bed.