What is Good and what is Evil?

Compare:

What is 'water'?

Well, in one sense 'water' is 'whatever we want it to be'. 'water' is just a word, and it is us who fix the meanings of words. If we had wanted, we could have made our language such that the word 'water' referred to chairs, or to fridges or to courage.

But there is something missing from this response. In our language as it actually stands, 'water' does not mean whatever we want it to mean. Its meaning is fixed by its role in that language. If I start calling courage 'water' people do not understand me. If I am a child they correct me, if an adult they think I have gone mad or tell me to stop drinking. In our language, it is not the case that 'water' is 'whatever we want it to be'. And the question 'what is water' is a question formulated in that language. It seems churlish to respond in a different language.

Can't we say at least these things about 'good'? 'Good' is a word in our language with a meaning fixed in that language, at least to some extent. I cannot call rape and murder 'good' whilst retaining the meaning of 'good'. If I do, people rightly correct me. At the very least, 'good' is not 'whatever we want it to be'. If it were, I cannot see what role it could have in our language. But 'good' does have such a role, and to (at the least!) this extent good is not whatever we want it to be.
 
@lovett
Water is a troublesome example, because it refers to an object. Love would be better, because it refers to an abstract concept. However, it would still be an abstract concept based on specific qualities. This being personal feelings.
On what specific qualities is good or evil based? That a majority agrees with you that something is good or evil? I doubt people would agree to that. But on what else can it be based on? What is good and evil, if it does not refer to an object nor an abstract concept with specific qualities? IMO good and evil can be described as the pure essence of judgmental valuation. And when such a judgmental valuation does not depend on any specific criteria, you can judge as you like.
So in the end, IMO to see something as good or evil simply means to make a stand.
 
I've used the comparison to 'circle' before on CFC. We can agree to define what a circle is. We can even get a strict definition! We can tell when something is more circular than another. We can extrapolate circles into other dimensions, such as spheres.

We cannot make a perfect circle. It's physically impossible. The concept, and our ability to judge, still exists.

"good", to me, is intentionally improving the life of another, for no personal benefit
"evil", to me, is intentionally hurting the life of another.

There're then grades between those two extremes.
 
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