Do you agree with the quote "There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so"....?

Question

Why or why not?

It's Shakespeare by the way.

Answer 1

Partly agree.

Thinking leads to judgment on our part.

Answer 2

I'm not quite sure, but I think I do agree.  Thinking is what morality comes from - that's why apart from anthropomorphic animals in Disney movies, there's no such thing as an evil animal.  The quotation most obviously applies to intentions (you cannot have good or bad intent without thought), but on a deeper level it seems to apply to everything else.  Is what we would call a good day or a bad day good or bad if we don't think about it?  Maybe the weather was very warm, but without reflection on it, it passes unevaluated.  On the other hand, our bodies would react positively to the weather, and the warmth would promote blood flow/better health, etc.  Probably what the veracity of the quotation boils down to (and this is where you have to make a stance on how much moral skepticism you have), is: is something that we would call good if we were aware of it still good without the awareness?

Answer 3

No. I think it's safe to say that murder, for example, is not a good thing.  I certainly wouldn't want to lose my life because someone out there would think it a good thing to do.

Good ole Shakespeare.

Answer 4

In the dualistic plane of existence, good and bad are relative terms.  If the relativity is non existent, good is bad and bad is good.  In the world of mnotheistic existence, the bad merges into the good and becomes an undifferentiated existence.  In an undifferentiated existence, the thinking which is an attribute of the Soul or the undifferentiated brahman or the God as we normally refer to, merges into the Soul and therefore the thinking have no separate existence as a cognizing faculty.  Then and there, the pantheism merges to  dualism merges with monoetheism  or dwaida merges with Adwaida.  This is the Ardhanarishwara aspect of God, it is the God in Satan and Satan in God aspect, It is the God and holy ghost in one aspect of God, it is the Shiva and the Vishnu in one aspect of God.  It is the destroyer and the creator in one aspect of the God.  Therefore, the Good and Bad exists in relation to the Soul in us which is as individuals separate from the Cosmic Soul and therefore meanings are understood relatively, whereas once these souls merge with the Cosmic, the meaning is lost, the separate existence is lost, and everything merges into one.   Thinking after all is only an attribute of the Soul.   Non-thinking or dropping of the thinking faculty is dissolving oneself into the pure consciousness and thinking other than towards the undifferentiated brahman is moving away from the cosmic force and therefore of sensory level where differentiations into dualistic thoughts and further three diamentional patterns and four diamentional and infinite diamentional patters are evolved which becomes the infrastructure for the process of thinking and cognitive faculties of materialistic understandings, which differs from person to person, place to place, circumstances to circumstances and the like., and therefore relative.   Traditions, morals, justice are built on the dualistic thoughts of right and wrong to establish an established practice as the foundation on which justice and executive and other matters can be made functional  for establishment of dharma and its continuity.

          Right and wrong are, therefore, individual perceptions, it has only meaning as long as body identifies itself as individual, once the ego is dissolved, everything loses its meaning including existence of the body. It will remain distinctly separate in the material plane of consciousness.

Answer 5

Only in the context of th next line..."Oh lord, I could be bound in a nutsell and count mysel king of infinite space, where it not that I have bad dreams."

Of course there's a lot of grey area.  Grey foggy days are good for some but miserable for other and vice verson.  So there is a large spectrum in the middle.  However, I think everyone will agree that a hurricane is bad, if you live in its path, not matter how hard to you try to think it good.

Answer 6

No. Because it is taken out of context.

Answer 7

I agree.

There are no good or bad things in this world... those terms are completely relative. Every action or decision has its different set of consequences which entails it.

For example, don't you think it's contradictory that a person chooses to be vegan in order to spare the animals of their needless suffering at the slaughterhouse, yet decides to sign up for the army anyway in order to invade countries and kill its civilians? For that person and the society he belongs to, they may think he's doing good and justified causes, but in the end, they just seem to come in conflict with each other.

Hence why I believe the vision of good/bad things are just products of our society, and not something that was determined by some real god's will or something.

In life, you do something, and it has its consequences. That's it, that's all. Who cares if it's good or evil? Just as long as you know what the h**l you're doing.

Answer 8

No, because we're all human, and we 'think' bad thoughts occasionally, as a way for our minds to vent/process anger.. but we don't all act on the bad feelings or thoughts..

I mean, who hasn't thought of 'offing' a bad mother-in-law or boss? Or wishing your company or bank's Records/Computer offices would burn down?!  Doesn't mean I'd do it..!

The world's not perfect, and neither are we.. but we all have the occasional mean thought - after we process it, we realize it's wrong.  Most of us anyway.

Answer 9

yeah basically. there's no global good or bad, it's all relative. To each person they have their own good and their own bad, and to that person that's just the way it is. So since they believe it that makes it so.

Answer 10

I suppose its true think about it murder can be bad if it happens to an Innocent person, but what if Hitler was murdered was bad or good ?

Answer 11

Agree. One "bad" action can be considered "good" from a different perspective. Morals of a society change too. War for example is considered bad by many people nowadays, depending on their perspective. Some view it as unnecessary violence, while others may view it as enforcing the "better" way upon another, ensuring resources and land for their future generations, etc. Slavery didn't just become bad. The opinion of whether it was bad or not changed. Most "bad" people don't act fully thinking they are doing wrong. They either justify it for a better cause or truly believe their way is best. Murder for any reason seems immoral, but many nations and tribes did it to appease the gods to prevent harm upon the majority. The concept of good and bad is just a matter of perspective.