What is good?

Tell your partner an example of • 1 object• 1 experience• 1 person

which you would describe as “good”

**Is there a “good” that all these things have in common?

Lesson 1: What is Good & Evil?Unit: GOOD AND EVIL

• To define good and evil (Level 3)

• To distinguish 2 types of evil with examples (level 4-5)

• To evaluate whether natural evil is really evil (Level 6-7)

Homework: Draw a title page for the unit “Good and Evil”

There are different ways in which something can be “good”. It might be “good” because

- it’s healthy eg fruit is good for you- Its desirable to have eg iPhones are good- It’s excellent in some way eg Hunger Games

is a good film- Its’ the right thing to do eg telling the truth is

good

1. Think of 2 examples of each kind of “good” for each heading

2. Which of these meanings of “good” do you usually think of ? Explain why.

**write a definition of what good is.

Find examples of each kind of “good”

Desirable – that would be good to have

Excellent in some way – “that’s really good!”

Healthy – that’s good for you!

Right to do – that’s a good thing to do

An iPhone

Good = whatever is right, healthy, desirable, excellent

The philosopher G.E. Moore thought about all these different meanings of “good” and decided that...

“Good”, like the colour yellow, can’t be explained. It can only be understood by personal experience.

What do you think this means?Clue: Think about the colour yellow. Can that be explained? How do we “understand” what yellow is?

How is the idea of “good” similar?

Do you agree with G.E. Moore that you can’t really explain to someone what “good” is – you can only know it by experience? Does your previous definition of good explain it to someone, or not?

So… what is evil ?

Evil

1. mindmap different ideas of what evil is.

2. Use these to write a definition of evil

**What types of evil are there?

Whatever prevents good, is harmful, unhealthy, wrong and undesirable.

Watch the movie.What are the 2 types of evil that it is showing?

1. Give your own definition & example of natural evil

2. Give your own definition & example of moral evil

**Could something be both a natural evil AND a moral evil ? Think of an example.

I think natural evil IS/ IS NOT real evil because…

EVIDENCE – does this suggest natural evil is a real evil?

1. The suffering and pain caused to human and animal life, and life on the planet, means any natural disaster has to be called a real evil. 2. God sends a flood to wipe out sinful humanity (Noah & the ark). So the flood is an evil caused on purpose by God. 3. God sends the 10 plagues on Egypt. This shows that the plagues are not “natural,” but evils caused on purpose by God. 4. Floods are only bad depending on your point of view. For some people, they may be a business opportunity to rebuild a town. 5. The way the world means some natural disasters do happen. The flood itself is neither good nor evil –just a natural event.6. Some natural disasters are caused by human sin and negligence eg global warming, oil spills, droughts etc can be the result of free human action. 7. Nobody causes natural disasters to happen. So they are not freely chosen – just accidents - so they cannot be “evils”.

Explain from 2 points of view if natural evil can be really evil. Conclude about whether natural evil is real evil or not.

Is it right to call natural disasters like volcanoes and floods “evil”?

Yes - Noah’s flood

Yes - Some of it is caused by human activity

No - Just a natural event

Yes – they cause pain and suffering, accidental or not

Yes - 10 plagues

No – nobody caused them to happen

Fill in the Gaps !