Good vs. Evil

[zantonavitch]

Good vs. Evil

by Kyrel Zantonavitch

The battle of Good vs. Evil is mostly, fundamentally, and most importantly an internal phenomenon. Your main enemy -- and ally -- is the man in the mirror. The principal battlefield between life and death, health and sickness, strength and weakness, greatness and pettiness, pleasure and pain, happiness and misery is between your ears.

Your main job in life is to work hard and smart. You're mostly dealing with -- not your fellow man, but -- physical and mental reality: with somehow filling 24 hours a day, finding meaning and purpose, and expanding and improving yourself. Your principal enemies in all this are being lazy and ignorant, as well as being dishonest and cowardly. You also need to try to avoid irrationality at all costs.

Of course, work isn't everything. In the Game of Life, play and fantasy and rest are important too. These are valuable both for their own sake and pleasure, and to enhance and uplift your main and bedrock activity: working hard and smart. A balanced and diverse life, which contains all four crucial elements, certainly seems best and richest and the most fun.

Naturally, external enemies can and do hurt you. This mainly includes tyrants, criminals, liars, and betrayers. But the worst enemy and focus of evil -- unless your social circumstances are truly extreme -- is always the low, slow, dull, weak, mediocre, inferior version of yourself. This ignoble, depraved, dark side of the Self is mostly what you have to strive to subdue, overmatch, and crush -- and on a generally continuous basis, no less.

Christianity claims that for you to be truly good, and see evil defeated inside of you, you have to be "born again." Nietzsche claims you have to overcome your aboriginal self and become a "superman." However you look at it, the ferocious and never-ending battle between good and evil is mainly that of repeatedly choosing and being your best possible self -- or at least immensely trying for this.

Shakespeare argues: "This above all: to thine own self be true." But it isn't easy or automatic. Aristotle calls such behavior a matter of developing and maintaining good habits.

You seem to have to work hard and smart, to work hard and smart, if you want to be your best and truest self. Having Good triumph over Evil inside yourself is an unending challenge.

In the Game of Life -- as you work away, and struggle along -- you also have to be brave and honest. This mainly means openly, directly facing yourself -- including your weaknesses, failures, and diabolical inner demons. This mostly means not lying to yourself -- the greatest of sins, but the easiest error to slip into. Courageously confronting external enemies and being straight with your friends is certainly important -- but this isn't the essence of the virtues of bravery and honesty. You mostly have to fiercely, intransigently fight the ever-present internal enemy -- and work hard and smart in this regard too.

[John Dailey]

~ In my more loquacious and convoluted style of arguing varied points on whatever subjects, I'd probably stress certain aspects you seemed to have merely mentioned secondarily, as well as merely mentioned-in-passing other aspects you stressed as being more primary; different perspectives, meguesses, but same orientation, methinks.

~ You do intimate the 'bottom line' about your subject, re one's making decisions about one's choices regarding whatever one 'thinks' about the subject matter of good-and-evil; and, the subject matter is relevently unavoidable in all such, whether one 'thinks' about that...or decides to choose not to. --- Which kind of person does one see 'in the mirror' when one gets up tomorrow?

LLAP

J:D

[John Dailey]

~ Ntl, all that you argue is worth to all readers a whileness in paying attention to; indeed, the lack of paying attention to such points you bring up, 'primarily' or 'secondarily', stands out in ALL our present political candidates for the next election(s)! --- It is unfortunate that they probably won't be reading it...nor...as all of us should as you suggest...look in the mirror. Short of 'make-up' concerns, methinks most are really afraid to really 'look' there. If they did, they'd probably 'Think Twice' about what kind of person they think they're seeing. But, their 'mirrors' are all the 'yes-men' manipulators around them; that's where they look for reflections. The rest of us...well...we got our real mirrors, but, how many of us will really 'look' tomorrow when we get out of bed?

~ Your 'mirror' analogy, metaphor, literalness is well put re the subject.

~ WorthWhile post, Kyrel!

LLAP

J:D

[zantonavitch]

In case it isn't readily apparent, this brief article was inspired by another one I wrote about a month ago called Enemies and Evil-Doers. That piece considered various fundamental elements of the proper and best way to respond to bad guys. It essentially argued: Kick their ass energetically and laugh in their face while you do it. For me, this seems like common sense and simple logic. But the article, rather surprisingly, generated a lot of negative and anguished replies.

People were all over the place -- but basically a lot seemed to say I wasn't considering the full picture. And indeed I wasn't. I thought that was clear. That first article mostly dealt with major aspects of how to deal with external enemies, and thus falls into the category of social morality. The article above mostly deals with major aspects of "the enemy within," and thus falls into the category of personal morality.

I can only hope the above article answers most of the direct and indirect questions raised.

I also think it's interesting to note that altho' I confined myself above to the topic of "good vs. evil," and didn't explicitly intend anything otherwise, nevertheless the above essay could also be seen as a not-all-that-contradictory, rational, liberal alternative to the rational, liberal ethics of Objectivism. Orthodox Objectivism claims that the key to happiness lies in the virtues of rationality, productivity, pride, honesty, justice, independence, and integrity. This is the Objectivist moral code.

An alternative list of virtues, and recipe for happiness, posited by myself above, could be summarized as:

1) Aim for your own happiness -- your own pleasure and flourishing -- at all times.

2) Aim for rationality at all times.

3) Try to work hard -- the active essence of your life.

4) Try to work smart; don't just "put your nose to the grindstone," but also be clever and slick.

5) Be as honest as you can be; try to see yourself as you really are.

6) Be as brave as you can be -- especially in confronting your weaknesses and failures.

7) Leave plenty of time for Play, such as recreation, sports, and games. And for Fantasy, such as imaginative, heroic, and sexual; And for Rest, such as meditating, drifting, and feeling and enjoying.

Which moral code and guide represents the best formula for fun and success? I think there's room for debate. But I don't think the seven cardinal virtues of standard Objectivism are necessarily the final answer. At the least, it still seems worth while to also consider the rational, liberal ethical systems of Aristotle, Epicurus, Zeno the Stoic, and various Enlightenment liberals.

Edited May 3, 2007 by Kyrel Zantonavitch