Banality of good - Revision history

Ahoussney at 23:15, 3 March 2015

2015-03-03T23:15:15Z

Ahoussney at 23:13, 3 March 2015

2015-03-03T23:13:49Z

Ahoussney at 23:13, 3 March 2015

2015-03-03T23:13:08Z

Ahoussney at 23:10, 3 March 2015

2015-03-03T23:10:37Z

Ahoussney at 23:10, 3 March 2015

2015-03-03T23:10:18Z

Ahoussney: Ahoussney moved page The banality of good to Banality of good

2015-03-03T22:57:12Z

Ahoussney moved page The banality of good to Banality of good

Ahoussney at 22:21, 3 March 2015

2015-03-03T22:21:34Z

Ahoussney at 22:12, 3 March 2015

2015-03-03T22:12:05Z

Ahoussney: /* Analogies and examples */

2015-03-03T21:55:52Z

‎Analogies and examples

Ahoussney at 20:50, 3 March 2015

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 The [[banality of good]], along with it's corollary, the '''malignancy of evil''' are concepts of [[ethics|Christian ethics]] wherein evil deeds carry much more weight than good ones. This truth can be observed in [[creation]] in that order is precious and delicate, but that destruction and chaos are easy to achieve. The banality of good underlies the Christian concept of sin. The Christian doctrine of the [[ethics#the nature of mankind|fallen nature of mankind]] is often misunderstood to mean that mankind is ''"more bad than good"''; in reality it means that no matter how good people behave, any sin, because of it's malignancy, poisons everything. The Bible teaches that all people have sinned and are falling short of the 100% standard required of them ([https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+3:23 Romans 3:23]). Since no-one is able to meet this standard, all humans are equally guilty before God of "missing the mark". The pride of people who see themselves as "righteous" is therefore misplaced. Because of the banality of good, the only appropriate posture towards one's own goodness is humility.
-The banality of good also means that actions, even if they are undertaken with the best of intentions, are capable of doing unintended harm. The reality of the principle of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unintended_consequences unintended consequences] in [[ethics]] is that frequently the results of an action have negative ramifications because of the banality of good and the malignancy of evil. This is behind the concept of the concept of the ''total depravity'' of man; ''every'' action bears the stain of sin, since it is therefore not totally pure, it can only be totally depraved.
+The banality of good also means that actions, even if they are undertaken with the best of intentions, are capable of doing unintended harm. The reality of the principle of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unintended_consequences unintended consequences] in [[ethics]] is that frequently the results of an action have negative ramifications because of the banality of good and the malignancy of evil. This is behind the concept of the concept of the ''total depravity'' of man; ''every'' action bears the stain of sin, since it is therefore not totally pure, it is tainted and poisonous.
 Contributing factors to the banality of good include the world's inherent complexity, human stupidity and self-deception, and the law of cause and effect, where small, apparently insignificant changes can have far-reaching effects (e.g., the butterfly effect).

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 The banality of good also means that actions, even if they are undertaken with the best of intentions, are capable of doing unintended harm. The reality of the principle of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unintended_consequences unintended consequences] in [[ethics]] is that frequently the results of an action have negative ramifications because of the banality of good and the malignancy of evil. This is behind the concept of the concept of the ''total depravity'' of man; ''every'' action bears the stain of sin, since it is therefore not totally pure, it can only be totally depraved.
 Contributing factors to the banality of good include the world's inherent complexity, human stupidity and self-deception, and the law of cause and effect, where small, apparently insignificant changes can have far-reaching effects (e.g., the butterfly effect).
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 The question is often asked: why is all the news on TV bad? Bad news is more common than good because of the banality of good. If you have a wonderful interaction with your co-workers on a daily basis, laughing together, enjoying meaningful interactions and being a productive team, this could go on for years without it attracting attention, however the one day that someone comes to work and shoots someone, or commits suicide will be of great importance to the local community and attract greater attention than all the wonderful days that came before. This is a natural element of human life; having a great day is nice, but survival dictates that mortal threats command our immediate and full attention.
 ===Entropy===

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	The [[banality of good]], along with it's corollary, the '''malignancy of evil''' are concepts of [[ethics\|Christian ethics]] wherein evil deeds carry much more weight than good ones. This truth can be observed in [[creation]] in that order is precious and delicate, but that destruction and chaos are easy to achieve. The banality of good underlies the Christian concept of sin. The Christian doctrine of the [[ethics#the nature of mankind\|fallen nature of mankind]] is often misunderstood to mean that mankind is ''"more bad than good"''; in reality it means that no matter how good people behave, any sin, because of it's malignancy, poisons everything. The Bible teaches that all people have sinned and are falling short of the 100% standard required of them ([https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+3:23 Romans 3:23]). Since no-one is able to meet this standard, all humans are equally guilty before God of "missing the mark". The pride of people who see themselves as "righteous" is therefore misplaced. Because of the banality of good, the only appropriate posture towards one's own goodness is humility.		The [[banality of good]], along with it's corollary, the '''malignancy of evil''' are concepts of [[ethics\|Christian ethics]] wherein evil deeds carry much more weight than good ones. This truth can be observed in [[creation]] in that order is precious and delicate, but that destruction and chaos are easy to achieve. The banality of good underlies the Christian concept of sin. The Christian doctrine of the [[ethics#the nature of mankind\|fallen nature of mankind]] is often misunderstood to mean that mankind is ''"more bad than good"''; in reality it means that no matter how good people behave, any sin, because of it's malignancy, poisons everything. The Bible teaches that all people have sinned and are falling short of the 100% standard required of them ([https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+3:23 Romans 3:23]). Since no-one is able to meet this standard, all humans are equally guilty before God of "missing the mark". The pride of people who see themselves as "righteous" is therefore misplaced. Because of the banality of good, the only appropriate posture towards one's own goodness is humility.

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−	The [[banality of good]], along with it's corollary, the '''malignancy of evil''' ~~is a concept~~ of [[ethics\|Christian ethics]] wherein evil deeds carry much more weight than good ones. This truth can be observed in [[creation]] in that order is precious and delicate, but that destruction and chaos are easy to achieve. The banality of good underlies the Christian concept of sin. The Christian doctrine of the [[ethics#the nature of mankind\|fallen nature of mankind]] is often misunderstood to mean that mankind is ''"more bad than good"''; in reality it means that no matter how good people behave, any sin, because of it's malignancy, poisons everything. The Bible teaches that all people have sinned and are falling short of the 100% standard required of them ([https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+3:23 Romans 3:23]). Since no-one is able to meet this standard, all humans are equally guilty before God of "missing the mark". The pride of people who see themselves as "righteous" is therefore misplaced. Because of the banality of good, the only appropriate posture towards one's own goodness is humility.	+	The [[banality of good]], along with it's corollary, the '''malignancy of evil''' are concepts of [[ethics\|Christian ethics]] wherein evil deeds carry much more weight than good ones. This truth can be observed in [[creation]] in that order is precious and delicate, but that destruction and chaos are easy to achieve. The banality of good underlies the Christian concept of sin. The Christian doctrine of the [[ethics#the nature of mankind\|fallen nature of mankind]] is often misunderstood to mean that mankind is ''"more bad than good"''; in reality it means that no matter how good people behave, any sin, because of it's malignancy, poisons everything. The Bible teaches that all people have sinned and are falling short of the 100% standard required of them ([https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+3:23 Romans 3:23]). Since no-one is able to meet this standard, all humans are equally guilty before God of "missing the mark". The pride of people who see themselves as "righteous" is therefore misplaced. Because of the banality of good, the only appropriate posture towards one's own goodness is humility.

	The banality of good also means that actions, even if they are undertaken with the best of intentions, are capable of doing unintended harm. The reality of the principle of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unintended_consequences unintended consequences] in [[ethics]] is that frequently the results of an action have negative ramifications because of the banality of good and the malignancy of evil. This is behind the concept of the concept of the ''total depravity'' of man; ''every'' action bears the stain of sin, since it is therefore not totally pure, it can only be totally depraved.		The banality of good also means that actions, even if they are undertaken with the best of intentions, are capable of doing unintended harm. The reality of the principle of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unintended_consequences unintended consequences] in [[ethics]] is that frequently the results of an action have negative ramifications because of the banality of good and the malignancy of evil. This is behind the concept of the concept of the ''total depravity'' of man; ''every'' action bears the stain of sin, since it is therefore not totally pure, it can only be totally depraved.

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 The [[banality of good]], along with it's corollary, the '''malignancy of evil''' is a concept of [[ethics|Christian ethics]] wherein evil deeds carry much more weight than good ones. This truth can be observed in [[creation]] in that order is precious and delicate, but that destruction and chaos are easy to achieve. The banality of good underlies the Christian concept of sin. The Christian doctrine of the [[ethics#the nature of mankind|fallen nature of mankind]] is often misunderstood to mean that mankind is ''"more bad than good"''; in reality it means that no matter how good people behave, any sin, because of it's malignancy, poisons everything. The Bible teaches that all people have sinned and are falling short of the 100% standard required of them ([https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+3:23 Romans 3:23]). Since no-one is able to meet this standard, all humans are equally guilty before God of "missing the mark". The pride of people who see themselves as "righteous" is therefore misplaced. Because of the banality of good, the only appropriate posture towards one's own goodness is humility.
 Wisdom is better than weapons of war,
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 It rains into the sea
-And still the sea is salt" - A. E. Housman
+And still the sea is salt"
 ==Analogies and examples==

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−	The [[banality of good]], along with it's corollary, the '''malignancy of evil''' is a concept of [[ethics\|Christian ethics]] wherein evil deeds carry much more weight than good ones. This truth can be observed in [[creation]] in that order is precious and delicate, but that destruction and chaos are easy to achieve. The banality of good underlies the Christian concept of sin. The Christian doctrine of the [[ethics#the nature of mankind\|fallen nature of mankind]] is often misunderstood to mean that mankind is ''"more bad than good"''; in reality it means that no matter how good people behave, any sin, because of it's malignancy, poisons everything. The Bible teaches that all people have sinned and are falling short of the 100% standard required of them. Since no-one is able to meet this standard, all humans are equally guilty before God of "missing the mark". The pride of people who see themselves as "righteous" is therefore misplaced. Because of the banality of good, the only appropriate posture towards one's own goodness is humility.	+	The [[banality of good]], along with it's corollary, the '''malignancy of evil''' is a concept of [[ethics\|Christian ethics]] wherein evil deeds carry much more weight than good ones. This truth can be observed in [[creation]] in that order is precious and delicate, but that destruction and chaos are easy to achieve. The banality of good underlies the Christian concept of sin. The Christian doctrine of the [[ethics#the nature of mankind\|fallen nature of mankind]] is often misunderstood to mean that mankind is ''"more bad than good"''; in reality it means that no matter how good people behave, any sin, because of it's malignancy, poisons everything. The Bible teaches that all people have sinned and are falling short of the 100% standard required of them ([https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+3:23 Romans 3:23]). Since no-one is able to meet this standard, all humans are equally guilty before God of "missing the mark". The pride of people who see themselves as "righteous" is therefore misplaced. Because of the banality of good, the only appropriate posture towards one's own goodness is humility.

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-The [[banality of good]], along with it's corollary, the '''malignancy of evil''' is a concept of [[ethics|Christian ethics]] wherein evil deeds carry much more weight than good ones. This truth can be observed in [[creation]] in that order is precious and delicate, but that destruction and chaos are easy to achieve. A small amount of poison can contaminate a well, but a vast amount of water is required to dilute it to the point of safety, and no amount of dilution can truly remove the poison. The banality of good underlies the Christian concept of sin and the [[ethics#the nature of mankind|fallen nature of mankind]] which is often misunderstood to mean that mankind is ''"more bad than good"'' but which actually means that since humans are not perfect, no matter how good they behave their nature is still sinful because of the malignancy of their sin which poisons everything. The Bible teaches that all people sin and are falling short of the 100% standard required of them. Since no-one is able to meet this standard, humans are equally guilty before God of "missing the mark".
+The [[banality of good]], along with it's corollary, the '''malignancy of evil''' is a concept of [[ethics|Christian ethics]] wherein evil deeds carry much more weight than good ones. This truth can be observed in [[creation]] in that order is precious and delicate, but that destruction and chaos are easy to achieve. The banality of good underlies the Christian concept of sin. The Christian doctrine of the [[ethics#the nature of mankind|fallen nature of mankind]] is often misunderstood to mean that mankind is ''"more bad than good"''; in reality it means that no matter how good people behave, any sin, because of it's malignancy, poisons everything. The Bible teaches that all people have sinned and are falling short of the 100% standard required of them. Since no-one is able to meet this standard, all humans are equally guilty before God of "missing the mark". The pride of people who see themselves as "righteous" is therefore misplaced. Because of the banality of good, the only appropriate posture towards one's own goodness is humility.
 Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner destroys much good.
 Dead flies make the perfumer's ointment give off a stench;
 so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor.
 "The toil of all that be
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 ==Analogies and examples==
 "It takes many good deeds to build a good reputation," Benjamin Franklin is quoted as saying "and only one bad one to lose it." By the same token, parenting and other deep relationships rely on consistent good deeds to succeed. How often has a relationship or someone's self image been crushed by careless, unkind words? Many words and many years of affirmation and positivity can be wiped out by a brief moment of anger. Although apologies can be given and forgiveness granted, those words can never be unsaid and the seeds of doubt and mistrust that go with them can never be completely removed.
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 The question is often asked: why is all the news on TV bad? Bad news is more common than good because of the banality of good. If you have a wonderful interaction with your co-workers on a daily basis, laughing together, enjoying meaningful interactions and being a productive team, this could go on for years without it attracting attention, however the one day that someone comes to work and shoots someone, or commits suicide will be of great importance to the local community and attract greater attention than all the wonderful days that came before. This is a natural element of human life; having a great day is nice, but survival dictates that mortal threats command our immediate and full attention.

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 ==Analogies and examples==
 It is far easier to destroy than to build - a house that took months to build can be bulldozed in a few hours or blown up in a few seconds.
-Inserting characters at random into computer code, or amino acids into DNA is ''far'' more likely to result in errors, than in benefits.
+Inserting characters at random into computer code, or amino acids into DNA is ''far'' more likely to result in errors than in benefits. This is a feature of ordered systems, the order is fragile and exact, there are far more ways to break something than to fix it.
-Why is all the news on TV bad?
+The question is often asked: why is all the news on TV bad? Bad news is more common than good because of the banality of good. If you have a wonderful interaction with your co-workers on a daily basis, laughing together, enjoying meaningful interactions and being a productive team, this could go on for years without it attracting attention, however the one day that someone comes to work and shoots someone, or commits suicide will be of great importance to the local community and attract greater attention than all the wonderful days that came before. This is a natural element of human life; having a great day is nice, but survival dictates that mortal threats command our immediate and full attention.
 Drinking water is necessary for life, but drinking poison results in death. Imagine a glass of pure water and one of pure poison; only the pure water is drinkable, but any mixture of the two is undrinkable. Whether your glass contains only one drop of poison, or if it contains 50% or 100% poison, it's result is the same, the drinkers will end up equally dead.
 ===Entropy===