Does it pay to be a good person

[nimbus]

lol, i hope you realize what total horseshit this is. "happiness" is an entirely subjective human concept and not required for biological function.

it's not horseshit man, happiness is what guides our actions

evolution has shaped our species such that actions that bring us happiness correlate with actions that bring us survival.

if starving didn't bring us unhappiness, and food didn't bring us happiness, we wouldn't eat and would die

if injury didn't bring us unhappiness, or interfere with activities that bring us happiness, we wouldn't avoid it and would die

if life didn't bring us happiness, we'd kill ourselves because otherwise all we are left with is a world of either pain or nothing.

 

[cryptosporidium]

it's not horseshit man, happiness is what guides our actions

evolution has shaped our species such that actions that bring us happiness correlate with actions that bring us survival.

if starving didn't bring us unhappiness, and food didn't bring us happiness, we wouldn't eat and would die

if injury didn't bring us unhappiness, or interfere with activities that bring us happiness, we wouldn't avoid it and would die

if life didn't bring us happiness, we'd kill ourselves because otherwise all we are left with is a world of either pain or nothing.

i dont define such things as happiness and unhappiness.

i consider them mechanistic.

whats wrong with a world of nothing?

whats wrong with pratītyasamutpāda?

 

[samoth]

This is a philosophical question mankind has been examining for millenia. I doubt we'll get any further with the topic in this thread.

If you want to get ahead in today's world, the answer is probably no.

If you do so in accords with your own moral or ethical beliefs, then the answer is probably yes.

Life tends to fall somewhere between these two, however. A thorough definition of 'pay' would be necessary as well -- everyone has a different interpretation of that term.

 

[PICK3]

If you do so in accords with your own moral or ethical beliefs, then the answer is probably yes.

^^^
this

it pays if you perceive being a "good person" is noble

the true answer is as elusive as a theoretical physics postulate

 

[samoth]

^^^
this

it pays if you perceive being a "good person" is noble

the true answer is as elusive as a theoretical physics postulate

Disagree -- morals and ethics are dynamic and changing, ever-evolving through time and space. What was acceptable 200 years ago is not now, and what one culture/religion/government preaches for, another one preaches against. There exists no absolute truth, no dispositive answer.

I recently found that my efforts at being a good person were actually having the opposite effect on another person. I suppose an important first step is finding out what common ground and what differences exist among people/groups with respect to 'good' and 'pay', and working from there.

Conversely, kingdoms and empires tend to form when one party pursues what they believe to be for the better 'good' against another party pushing their 'good'... perhaps these differences are what moves the world foward; what makes us human.

 

[PICK3]

Disagree -- morals and ethics are dynamic and changing, ever-evolving through time and space.

Agree -- and your personal morals and ethics are dynamic and every changing (to some degree) as you experience personal growth throughout your life.

 

[cryptosporidium]

wutever im a ghost

 

[iggy]

This is a philosophical question mankind has been examining for millenia. I doubt we'll get any further with the topic in this thread.

If you want to get ahead in today's world, the answer is probably no.

If you do so in accords with your own moral or ethical beliefs, then the answer is probably yes.

Life tends to fall somewhere between these two, however. A thorough definition of 'pay' would be necessary as well -- everyone has a different interpretation of that term.

This.
It stems down to your own definition of a "good person". "Doing the right thing" isn't always the right thing to do.

Try and put everyone else before yourself and your own goals in this day and age. You'll end up being a loser......

"The Strongest Shall Survive"

 

[nimbus]

i dont define such things as happiness and unhappiness.

i consider them mechanistic.

whats wrong with a world of nothing?

whats wrong with pratītyasamutpāda?

i dont really know what that is except that it's buddhist. and isn't the end goal buddhism nirvana aka bliss?

 

[cryptosporidium]

i dont really know what that is except that it's buddhist. and isn't the end goal buddhism nirvana aka bliss?

pratītyasamutpāda refers to the dependent co-arising of conditions and happiness. the state of happiness depends on certain conditions. this premise leads one to discover that happiness is empty.

nirvana is escape from suffering caused by the cycle of birth, death and rebirth.

the topic is simple and complex at the same time, thats why i said "whats wrong with a world of nothing?" i just thought id be pragmatic and rephrase it.

so whats wrong with a world of nothingness?