If NOTHING is GOOD/BAD or RIGHT/WRONG, then what's the purpose of VALUES ?

Question

Spiritual leaders are ALWAYS saying nothing is good or bad or right or wrong, but does that mean that stealing or adultery are not wrong?

Answer 1

I don't think they mean it literally, the good/ bad and right/wrong thing is saying that because you do good or do right should not be a signal to go out and do wrong or bad things one does not cancel out the other , of course that is only my opinion.

Answer 2

When someone like the Dali Lama says nothing is good or bad, what they mean is the inherent nature of an object or perspective is not one or another.

Take a knife for example. A knife simply laying on your kitchen counter is neither good nor bad. And that means that the 'good' or 'bad aspects of it are based upon the interpretation of its use, and even that can change depending upon who is making the interpretation. You can't say weilding a knife at someone is wrong and then say its ok to defend yourself from someone who breaks in. Wielding a knife at your 4 yr. old for taking a cookie might not be such a good idea, but alot of people would feel much differently about the situation if the person had broken in and was threatening you with bodily harm.

Same knife, same action, different context. It is context that determines right and wrong, not the object or action itself, which is not what we are taught (stealing is ALWAYS wrong, for example.) There are many good reasons why people shouldn't commit adultery and there are many good reasons why people should; again, all about the context.

Also, think about it this way. A spiritual leader spends their entire life learning that much of what they know, or think they know, about a situation is only an incomplete or partial understanding at best. And since it is not a good thing to make judgements when you don't have the entire facts of existence before you, its much better to say 'I cannot judge what is right or wrong, good or bad, so who am to say what is or is not those things. Who am I to say that even this thought is good or bad. Nothing, therefore, cannot be good or bad because I don't know enough to be able to say that.'

Answer 3

I think any spirtual leader that says nothing is right or wrong is no leader at all, just an addition to the problem. We all have a sense of right and wrong deep within. Guilt is a natural feeling that occurs when we do wrong, and it should'nt be ignored. Of course we can override this feeling of guilt and eventualy convince ourselves that something is ok when we know deep down in it's not. After enough convincing we may even come to believe its ok.

Answer 4

Basically values are standards of behaviour or worth that you carry in your own mind. You live by them, because they give meaning to the life you lead. If they define you, there are emotional attachments to them and you can’t let them go, and thus may resist change.

In this context perhaps, spiritual leaders may be saying/meaning that the sense of good/bad or right/wrong is only relative. (They’re certainly NOT condoning stealing or adultery.)

For example, in a particular age and time, society is organized in a particular way. The people collectively hold certain beliefs and values and follow certain norms and rituals that reflect them. Such behaviours bring peace and harmony to the society, because every member of it thinks, feels and acts in ways that makes sense to other members.

But this society won’t last forever as it is. Change will come either gradually with advancements, or catastrophically through wars or revolutions. What happens then? New experience, and new knowledge will cause all the existing beliefs, values, norms, rituals, etc., to change. New ideas grow of what is right/wrong, good/bad that are different from before. If there are people among them who cling to the earlier values, their fitting into the new society becomes difficult.

The point is people need to keep an open mind about values. The world today has people of all cultures, nationalities, etc., who live by values. However, the perceptions of right/wrong, good/bad of people in one place are different than those of another, but no less true.

Answer 5

Values, rules and law may  look clear in writing, but when they are used to come to a conclusion in a court of law or in ethical discussions, differences in interpretation occur. People weigh various factors in the history and context of an incident in very different ways.

Stealing is wrong generally speaking. But how wrong is it when a parent steals a loaf of bread because their children are hungry? Could stealing from the invaders of your country be a courageous   act of sabotage? If I would steal a slave from his owner to liberate him...?

Adultery is only wrong when the partners agreed they would be monogamous, but non-monogamy agreements are common in many relationships. Or, am I wrong when I sleep with somebody while my spouse serves a thirty years sentence?

Values are general rules one can apply to live "the good life" .

Values can be good or wrong, what one religion sees as a value can be seen as irrelevant or stifling by other groups.

For instance "I want my virgin daughter to marry a suitable boy I choose for her within our caste" vs."I want to marry this nice man I met in college, who has been my lover for quite some time".

But values can be in conflict with each other, e.g. "I want to be free and independent and be an artist fulltime " and "I want to provide for my children". Or: "I want a stable life for my children" v.s. "I want a divorce because I want to live with the partner I love".

Still explicit values are useful to become clear about our decisions and their consequences.

Countries and organizations, which apply rules strictly, are called dictatorships and bureaucracies. They miss a flexible checking, whether a rule serves its aim in a specific context and that is almost always at the expense of the individual.