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The Goodness Question

IS ANYTHING OBJECTIVELY GOOD OR BAD?

“That was a good meal!” “Bush was a bad president.” “I’m sure you did the right thing.” “Abortion is always wrong.” “Osama bin Laden was an evil man.” “The invasion of Iraq wasn’t justified.” All of these statements involve value judgments of some kind or another. They don’t simply state facts in a disinterested way; rather, they make evaluations of the facts. They make judgments that certain things are “good” or “bad,” “right” or “wrong,” “justified” or “unjustified.” All of us make value judgments all the time. Some are very significant, others not so much. Either way, value judgments are an essential feature of human life. But is anything objectively valuable? Is anything objectively good in the sense that it is a good thing period, regardless of what anyone happens to think, hope, or feel about it? Some people believe that all value judgments are ultimately relative or subjective, that they’re no more than expressions of human preferences, either personal preferences or cultural preferences. On this view, nothing is intrinsically good or bad. Instead, we make things valuable by projecting our desires, tastes, and goals onto the world. Other people insist that some things—such as marital love and musical skill—are objectively good, while other things—such as rape and child abuse—are objectively bad. Their goodness or badness isn’t ultimately a matter of personal or cultural preferences. Which view do you take? Is anything objectively good or bad?”

— What's Your Worldview?: An Interactive Approach to Life's Big Questions by James Anderson
"The apostle Paul entered heaven to the cheers including of those he martyred, that's how the Gospel works"
2025/06/26 23:56:39
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