Week: May 10-16, 2009 Question 2

Week: May 10-16, 2009 Question 2

Well we shall continue our week of exploring the greatest question to haunt man with the opposite of our last question.

What defines something as good?

Ah if Evil is a word that means intensely bad, then good is quite the opposite. Although good is actually a very versatile word. Depending on the context it can be a neutral adjective.

"How was your day?"
"Good"

Or when combined with sarcasm it can mean bad

"I accidentally downloaded his file on the computer and now it won't start up. is that bad?"
"No, that's a good thing that your computer can't start up."

Or even better we can use it to define someones intentions or their moral compass.

"Brett is one of the good guys."

Now we return to what is good and how do we define it?

Well the question of good is up for grabs for anyone that feels like expressing an opinion on it. It can be quite a useful word but when used as an adjective to define a person in some way it becomes something that has strayed into the eternal gray area for meanings. Another fun thing to think about when using the word good is that it is one of the few words that has multiple opposites that mean the same thing. Good and Evil, Good and Bad. So how would i define the word good? Simply put, i wouldn't. The word Good for me doesn't have much of a meaning for the little that i use it for. There are plenty of other words i can use to describe my day (which is where the word good often comes up), i particularly like fine. If Evil is an overused meaningless word then Good goes right up in that category with it. Good has so many meanings depending on context that it's become worthless for my vocabulary, but I of course will still use it from time to time because i don't always pay attention to what i say.

Well stay tuned for Friday's finale of this week where i put down my final thoughts on the battle of Good vs Evil.

Thought for the day: Is Goodly even a word? It sounds stupid and usually that's a clear signal as to what's not a word. Goodliness?