what came first, good or evil?

Good and evil are notions. They were created at the same time, in prehistoric man's mind when he first gained sentience and tried to understand his world.

Good is anything that increases the level of happiness and well-being for the individual, group, or species in question without harming anyone.

Evil is causing others to suffer needlessly.

Good came first. Many species cooperate for mutual benefit (hunting in packs, building communal homes, caring for young that are not their own) and kill out of instinct, but it takes an advanced mind to devise truly evil schemes.

Good and evil are concepts that can only exist in the minds of sentient beings who empathize with the feelings of others. We do not like to suffer and reason that others feel the same way we do, so it is wrong to do that which will cause them unnecessary pain. We all desire good food, security, shelter, tools and toys, so we trade services and surpluses. Each culture determines when and with whom we are obligated to share resources for the common good.

Good and evil are human words with varying interpretations depending on time and place.

Evil is the privation of Good.

Re: what came first, good or evil?


Sometime back I wrote the topic Good and Evil are indestructible forces of nature.I still hold the view that evil is part of the creation.It's not something out of Man's brain.What we decry as evil are there already in the life of all living beings! Slavery,Stealing,canibalising what not?

I'm going to say evil because being the last to come is always good......

[enjoying, (without applauding) pB's response]

i would say that in 'the natural environment' there is no such thing as good or evil; there only 'is' what there 'is'!

good and evil are concepts invented, and effectively put into practice (especially the latter) by "man"!

In a world of multiplicity and sentient consciousness values arise. The "self" is constantly having to judge one thing over another. Should I go left, or right? Should the hunter from the neighboring tribe be welcomed or attacked when he appears in our bet hunting ground? Do I prefer squash, or beans. In each of these simple cases, the individual assigns some value and preference. What we value highly we deem as "good", what we don't like is "bad". Of course, it isn't that simple. There is a whole range of values with no clear distinction between any two adjacent points. I like chile, but pepper is better than a mild spice and I really don't care for tasteless dishes.

We assign values from personal preference, or adopt those of our parents and peers. The values of group leaders often become "fashionable" with those with less peer group clout.

It is what we do with the values that is more interesting. Some react with little thought and much emotion; they either really, really love "X", or really, really hate "Y". Extreme emotions leads too often to extreme words and actions, and we can all con where that can lead. Humans do have the capacity to think and control their thoughts, words, and actions. When we come into contact with something that rouses our sense of values, we can considered it with some objectivity and choose the words or actions that are then felt most appropriate. We compromise values all the time, and there is nothing wrong with that. The world we live in is complex and strong values are often in conflict. We have to choose, and then live with the consequences of our choices.

Is there an objective measure of "good" and "bad/evil"? I believe that the degree to which a thought, word, or action either increases suffering, or mitigates suffering is the best, perhaps only scale we can apply to any sentient being, anywhere in the universe, without regard for their intellectual capacity. An illiterate inhabitant of a distant star who never read the any of our countless treatises on morals and ethics can intuitively understand that their thoughts, words, or actions can lead to greater suffering, or less.

Re: what came first, good or evil?
First came the human beings. Than moral.
Good is what a comunity, in specific conditions of space and time, considers to be appropriate. Evil is the opposite.

"Nothing is either good or bad, but thinking makes it so."
--William Shakespeare (not that he was an expert on such things)

Re: what came first, good or evil?

Good and Evil are moral concepts. Evil is something that is morally bad or wrong. Good is the opposite of Evil.


Neither came first. The concepts are opposite of each other. So, whoever first thought-up of the concept of Good/Evil, automaticaly created its opposite.


The concepts of Good and Evil were created by man. Good and evil entities already existed, before man discovered the concepts of Good and Evil.

Human's create values, because we are capable of language.

Epithet is absolutely correct. They are both ideas that humans have used to categorize the actions of other creatures. The things we label as "good things" and "bad things" have always existed. We simply gave them a name based on our likes/dislike/morals. Neither was created first, they are simultaneous. Evil is NOT good, and Good is NOT evil. You must define one to define the other.

Thalion has it right. There is not 'Evil' just the pivation of Good. There is only Good and Nothing.

TTF