ok then, its good if a bullet injures. its good when a nuclear weapon causes mass destruction.
I think we are misunderstanding “the good of the thing” and whether doing something is good.
Let’s look at the example of the gun again. A gun is not evil in itself. It can’t be, anymore than a cloud or a star or a book can itself be evil. In fact, nothing can be evil in itself, insofar as it exists (and as such derives its existence from God). A gun is just a collection of metals in a certain configuration, made by a certain person, for a given purpose (it’s end).
However, if I start shooting kittens with the gun, though the gun may be meeting its purpose, it may be a good gun, what I am doing is not good, because it is not for my right end, it is not an act that promotes virtue in my heart, it is not an act that assists the right end of the kittens, etc. However, I could use the gun to protect my household from a burglar, encouraging justice and freedom by my act. This could be a good, in that it preserves our freedom, protects our property, and encourages just action, which is a human virtue (part of the ideal person, or a person’s end).
funny hearing that from a roman catholic.
You made up a condition that cannot possibly exist in nature. The way the world would look if that condition were met would be strange indeed, and even inconsistent. I believe that was my point.
What do you think about this definition of ‘good’:
GOOD = whatever entails reverence towards either life, continuity, happiness, or human flourishing.
Depending on what you mean by happiness, this would be a good definition of “good”, if one accepts “good” as applied to the human animal. If happiness is a state of virtue, a state of a person fulfilling his purpose and coming closer to the person God made him to be, then it is good to be happy.
However, even speaking about whether I think a definition is good violates the definition itself (if the definition is intended for a general application, referencing all senses of “good”), as a good definition is no more happy than a bad one. It just fulfills its purpose, to define, better than a bad one.
