[Winter wind]

Quote by: linda The person who broke the window is the person that exists in this spectrum of right and wrong. Do you destroy the person because he is capable of doing wrong and then does it or do you try to show the person why what he has done is wrong? This I suggest is an example of the "middle".

I agree, I was pointing out that the analogy was lacking.

Quote by: jlrep Is your answer to the question I asked yes, or no?

I was saying the logic of the analogy was faulty. However I agree in spirit with out.

Quote by: freefallife I don't know about you, but I would only have to feel pain once to know it hurt.

Yes, but you can see how people react to pain differently based on experiences. I know an old miner who fell off a platform and broke some ridiculous amount of bones, was impaled by the tool he was using, and had a heart attack all at the same time. He was able to fight off the paramedics and take a cigarette before walking into the ambulance without so much as a whimper.

He has a different average of pain, because he had experienced more pain in his life. That average can be seen from person to person. Experiencing it only once would make it seem like the worst thing possible. It would make experiencing the best in life seem like average.

Quote by: freefallife If you read back, you'll notice this has been covered. Are you going to try to maintain that a child born deformed and suffering would not know what pain was if injured seriously?

no, but what I am saying is that the child born deformed and suffering is able to create that as his average. So that additional pain would be the same. If you were in his position, the added pain of his deformity and the injury would be worse then if he had the injury and was already used to the deformity.

Quote by: freefallife One would wonder if you would consider evil the same if a tornado blew apart your home and killed your familly.

If an experience like that happened to me every day, wouldn't I begin to create that as my average, as my norm? Or the other way around, if it had never happened before, wouldn't it seem so much worse?

We always think what we have is bad, and that if it could be just a little better, it would make all the difference. But we look at the world and we see that those born into great wealth have to seek out greater pleasures, while those born into poor families are used to it and find pleasures in things that the wealthy people think are normal or even inferior.

It is cold, but it seems logical...

Quote by: freefallife Here I must once again disagree. What is average?? If I live my life and cause no pain or suffering to anyone (no evil), would I not therefore be considered good? Would I be considered evil if I lived alone on an island and never performed any good for anyone? No, I would be good. The default is good. When you start out on a killing spree, it is only then one would consider you evil.

You incapability to do evil or evil just makes you average. Everyone else would have done the same in your position. Good isn't the default. "OK" is the default. While we all have the capability to do great evil, we also have the same to do good (just look at Buddha, Jesus, or Gandhi).

Doing nothing and being nothing and not effecting anyone is just "ok". Not special, not great, just ok.

Quote by: freefallife I never disagreed with this in its entirety. What I relly disagree with is that there has to be some sort of EQUAL balance between the two. As in, there must be as much good as there is evil in the universe. Quite obviously, that is not the case. The universe is, by its very nature, an extremely violent place.

I don't know about the universe, but the world can be a violent place. Also it can be a great place. Every concept we have of good is done in comparison to something else, either better or worse.

I am capable of taking a knife and stabbing it into the nearest, unsuspecting person, and I could also go onto the street and help the worst off in life like my aunt does. Instead I sit here and do what is average.

Quote by: freefallife I happen to think that if someone asked me what I thought of him, I would say that he was a GOOD neighbor.

Well, your neighbor would have to sacrifice some of his pleasures to accomplish that. He would have to stop his loud parties that he likes. This takes an effort. Therefore he has done good. Otherwise he is just doing what is expected. This is ok, this is fine. It isn't wonderful.