Goodness, where does it come from?

We can find a lot of good in the world. Human patience, generosity, forgiveness, and tolerance abound. It’s okay. How else can we hope to confront crime, moderate the effects of tyranny, diminish terrorism, and lessen war? Bad things, if left alone, will go their own ‘not sweet way’ and cause immense difficulties, pain and suffering.

Just as humanity does human things, it also does inhuman things. People can do good things. People also cause social ills. Our main hope is that many of us will behave much better. Be more considerate than inconsiderate; more compassion than indifference; and more love than hate. But how optimistic can we be? This may depend on where the goodness itself comes from. Is it inherent in human beings or does it originate beyond all of us?

Here are five different ways to think about this question. Choose which one is more convincing.

Scientific perspective on goodness
The atheist evolutionist finds no difficulty in accounting for pain, hatred, and evil. These are woven into the fabric of evolutionary theory. Your problem is: where did love, altruism, and good originate? It is theorized that kindness is nothing more than a natural instinct. One who protects himself and his close relative for the sake of survival.

Humanistic perspective of goodness
We all have a strong sense of living on ourselves. Perhaps this attitude is not surprising. Each of us is aware of being a separate autonomous individual; one with a mind and body of his own completely separate from other people and from everything else in nature.

So we see ourselves as the origin of our thinking and wanting. These are my feelings, my thoughts and my wishes. In other words, our good feelings have a source. They come from us. They are ours.

The result is the humanistic belief that human beings are basically good. Why else, he wonders, do we hate injustice so much? And why else are we so deeply moved by beauty and so moved by acts of kindness?

“I believe in the innate goodness of most of the people in this world and yet I am a damaged soul like many other people and I have my own demons and things that I struggle with.” (James Gunn, filmmaker and actor)

Critics of humanism ask if we are basically good, why are dishonesty, infidelity, greed, envy, laziness, cruelty often found in human affairs?

Secular mysticism
An alternative view arises from those who experience a sense of wonder and admiration for the vastness and unity of the universe. In their order and design, they feel an infinite power of goodness beyond their own limited self. Such experiences seem to come to people from outside of themselves; states of ecstasy tinged with feeling in harmony with nature and being connected to all of life.

“Once, indoors with a group of friends, I had a powerful sensation of the earth as a living being that breathed, with myself connected to it as a smaller being. This sensation of vitality spread to the galaxies above already The night sky filled with points of starry light. This changed my perspective on everything. ” (student essay reported by David Tacey)

Abraham Maslow, an atheist psychologist, studied such momentous experiences and commented that those who experience them are more likely to feel that life in general is worthwhile, even if it is often monotonous, vulgar, or painful, as beauty, emotion, honesty, gambling, Goodness, truth and meaning have been shown to exist.

Religious mysticism
According to writer Ken Wilber, there is a higher transpersonal state of consciousness in which the sense of oneness with the natural world is not lost or denied. Rather, it is complemented by a sense of connection to the invisible, spiritual, and formless aspect of the cosmos. It suggests that this experience of the Spirit permeating the cosmos is interpreted in specific cultural contexts: Jews refer to it by the name Yahweh, Christians by the name of Christ, Hindus by the name of Krishna or Shiva, etc. However, all of these share the consciousness of an invisible Spirit who is present throughout the universe and in a sense transcends the material universe.

“People who worship goodness and love and goodness and truth are worshiping God himself.” (Anne Lamott, novelist and essayist)

Vision of a spiritual sun
If there is no source of goodness beyond human beings, it follows that humanity deserves all the credit for the good we achieve by producing happiness. This idea of ​​human merit sounds selfish. It goes against spiritual humility and contrasts with a religious orientation.

“There is nothing good but God.” (Matthew 19:17)

We can imagine the Divine as a sun with great heat and light; its rays flow into our hearts and minds; There igniting the warmth of human love and shining the light of human wisdom. And so, without this inspiration, we have no goodness of our own.

My own conclusion
Even if God is the source of all good things, that would not be enough. This is because there are still many bad things in the world. Part of the answer is my own personal choice; Whether or not to allow goodness to flow into my mind Just by focusing on the bad things in politics and society, our perspective turns a bit.

To find peace and happiness, it is necessary to look outside of yourself, not to be self-centered, but to have an open heart, to try to be useful. To get on with those who bother me, I need to be aware of the possibility that everyone, like me, is a work in progress.

“Try to see the good in others. When you are tempted to judge someone, make an effort to see their goodness. Your willingness to seek the best in people will bring it up unconsciously.” (Marianne Williamson, inspirational speaker)