Good is Evil

What exactly is good and evil? Well good is when you benefit others and evil is when you take advantage of others. However, when we look into the origins of the definition of good specifically, we find that it is largely defined by those in the upper classes and the nobility. They are the same people who deemed themself as superior. So if goodness really is about how much you “benefit others” as defined by the upper class, then those in the lower class, who do not have the bandwidth to benefit others, are not “good”.

This analysis of the history of the definition of good came about when Nietzsche criticised those who defined good as “useful”. In his scavenge for the origins of ‘good’, he found that it was initially defined as strong and ‘bad’ just meant simple or useless. Since the definition of these words came from those who perceived themselves as superior, we can assume that it was originally meant as a way to oppress the poor by defining them as ‘bad’.

So if these noblemen defined themselves as good, what traits made them ‘good’? If ‘good’ was defined as strong and superior but those ‘good’ people are oppressing the ‘bad’ people, wouldn’t they be considered ‘evil’.

So is there really a difference between good and evil?