The Illusion of the Good

The Illusion of the Good

ABSTRACT: The question of ethics relates to the good and its contrary, evil. What ethics does with its object is to seek to understand it, that is, not to produce either the concept of the good or the actions that fall under that concept. Thus, the question that follows is: What is the good?, or strictly speaking, what is the definition of the good? But the definition asked for, as any other definition, is necessarily related to the science of language. But language itself is a social phenomenon. Consequently, the definition of any concept implies the quest of the social roots of this concept. In this sense, the quest of the roots is prior to the quest of what is. Examples are taken from Plato’s Republic, Freud’s Civilization and Its Discontents, and Schlick’s Problems of Ethics to show that the good is either in the state, in the super-Ego or in society. This means that the origin of the good lies outside the good itself, or, outside ethics. Hence, we cannot speak of the good per se, and if we do, we fall into an illusion.

Q: To what object does the question of ethics relate?

A: To the good and its contrary, evil.

Q: And what does ethics do with the object?

A: Ethics seeks to understand it, that is, not to produce neither the concept the good, nor the actions that fall under this concept.

Thus, the question that seems to follow is:

What is good? Or, strictly speaking, what is the definition of good? But the definition asked for, as any other definition, is related, necessarily, to the science of language as G.E. Moore has pointed out in his book. But language, itself, is a social phenomenon. Consequently, the definition of any concept. In this sense, the quest of the social roots i...

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...in internal psychological processes, and considering nature as the sole enemy and as the source of evil. Not only nature is evil, but also man as long as the dichotomy goo/evil has been interiorized, and Homo hominy buys us is the inevitable outcome.

Nevertheless, real development ran against this illusory dichotomy. The industrial revolution in Europe was preceded by religious critical thinking and the liberation of human reason from any other authority save that of reason itself. Hence, thin revolution reveals that real development is realized with the help of technology guided by science mastering nature for the sake of satisfying man's needs.

Notes

(1) S. Freud, Civilisation and its Discontents, (trans.) J. Strachey, W.W. Norton Company, Inc. 1961, pp. 71-72.

(2) Schlick, Problems of Ethics, (trans.) D. Rynin, Dover Publications, 1961, pp. 90 and 91.