We explain what goodness is, how it has changed throughout history and why it is a value. Also, goodness in the Bible.
What is goodness?
Goodness is, as most dictionaries define it, the quality of how good someone is, that is, the natural tendency to do good spontaneously or, at least, the resistance to do evil. Obviously, this word comes from "good", which in Latin was bonus, and in turn came from duonos, "Efficient" or "correct".
Kindness today is a concept moral complex, in which other notions such as generosity, kindness, I respect, consideration, empathy, mildness, loyalty, honesty Y responsibility. This is because the very notion of "the good" has varied immensely throughout history. history, as did the cultures Y religions, that is, the ethical codes and of conduct socially valued.
For example, in Ancient Greece it was held that the good should always be beautiful and true at the same time, thus distinguishing it from pleasure and associating it with virtue, that is, with the harmonious and balanced. For this reason, according to the classical philosophers, human behavior should be governed by what is proportionate, that is, by what is measured.
Thus, the Greeks did not speak of goodness, but of eudaimonia, translatable term as "happiness"Or" prosperity ", the state of greatest satisfaction of the human being. In addition, they linked it in different ways to the earring or virtue, Yet the phronesis or practical wisdom.
However, the vision of goodness that prevailed in the West was strongly determined by Christianity, whose precepts were law throughout the world. Middle Ages European. For Christianity, this was determined by God, whose will governed the universe, but at the same time gave human beings a free will that they could use to do good or to do evil.
This notion of the good was revolutionary, especially because it democratized virtue. In the pre-Christian world, where nobles and aristocrats were born virtuous and slaves were born dishonored, the possibilities of doing good were not the same.
Instead, according to the Christian creed, all human beings are made in the image and likeness of God, and we are the fruit of original sin itself, so that we define ourselves morally more by our actions than by our origins.
The latter was key to the modern idea of goodness, as later argued by the German philosopher Immanuel Kant (1724-1804), according to which the good cannot be judged without taking into account the will of the individual, since, if we were obliged to To act in a certain way, the very notions of good and bad would be lost, for there would be no alternative.
To do good is, then, to choose to do good, and especially when there is no type of immediate reward to receive, that is, when we do not gain anything with such a decision.
Goodness as value
Like all moral valuesIn practice, goodness is not an absolute and universal concept, but it depends a lot on the point of view.
A kind action can have dire consequences in the future and bring greater suffering in the long run, and a selfish or malicious action can unleash events that, in the long run, are of greater benefit to everyone. However, does it mean that such actions are more or less kind or evil?
In general, we tend to think that no: that goodness and badness are judged in the short term and without relation to their final results, but only to the intention of the person who performs them, as we saw previously regarding Kant and Christianity. . This is what phrases like "the intention is what counts" and, paradoxically, like "the road to hell is paved with good intentions" refer to.
However, kindness is considered a supreme value that can be translated into many ways of acting for the benefit of others and not one's own, even going so far as to sacrifice one's own well-being in order to make the world a better place. We call those who embrace this type of behavior “kind” or simply “good”.
Goodness in the Bible
The notion of goodness in the Bible is strongly linked to God as an example and inspiration for his faithful. In this sense, it can vary between the Old Testament, whose God is shown in the most vindictive and terrible stories, and the New Testament, whose God instead shows himself merciful, ready for forgiveness and loving sacrifice.
Thus, while the God of the Old Testament was capable of terrible acts, such as the destruction of entire cities, the God of Christ is willing to sacrifice his own son and prophet, Jesus of Nazareth, to purge the sins of the humanity and allow him a new chance to resume the path of salvation.
Or as the Gospel of Saint Luke says (Luke 6:35): “Rather, love your enemies, and do well, and lend expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for He is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. "