Wholesome goodness and hope

Having looked through the various blogs recently (mainly political I have to say) it got me wondering what is the purpose of this blog?

I've mulled this over for a few days now, and I seem to be asking myself all sorts of questions.

Some of them could be considered having a political basis (e.g. How can the MP's raid the piggy bank so much); however I think the questions go much deeper than that.

In the above example, is it right that the MP's get these allowances?

To then go even deeper, what is "right" (in any circumstance)?

It is answers to questions like this that build the very foundations of our society.

Sure one's answer to a question such as "is xxxxxx right?" can and will be influenced by one's upbringing, religion, political bias etc, however there must be a fundamental principle which underpins all of these answers.

I don't want this to turn into some pseudo psychology blog, but I do believe to start with the basics and build up from there.

So I'd like to include some thought provoking stuff and apply these principles to both situations in my own life, and stories in the media. No doubt my definitions of these principles will need tweaking along the way, and it will be interesting to see what influences those tweaks.

Right, a starter for ten.

What is "Right" and "Wrong"?

Clearly one is the opposite of the other,so in defining one do we automatically define the other?


Definition of wrong

My generic definition of "Wrong" would be:

"To deliberately set out to hurt another member of our society"

My reasoning behind this statement (and a few definitions) is as follows:

Deliberately
I chose the word "deliberately" as we may inadvertently hurt someone/something without forethought.
Example would be: Say you were playing golf and inadvertently hit someone with a stray ball. Yes, you hurt that person, but there was no intent.
In my view that would NOT be wrong.

Set out to
I chose the expression "set out to" as I don't believe it matters whether you carry the act out or not.
An example: Someone who plots another's murder, but is foiled for whatever reason is wrong.

Hurt
Next is the word "Hurt". How do I define that? There is obvious physical pain, but there is also psychological pain. So I think "hurt" means anything which makes someone uncomfortable, either physically or mentally.

Another Member of society
Obvious definition is another human being, but should it be that wide or that narrow a definition?
Some cultures have a class system whereby "another member of their society" would be a social class or a particular religous following. Is that too narrow?

Others may say that animals fall into this category. Is it wrong to beat a dog? Yes, in my opinion, but where does that end? Is it all living organisms? Is it wrong to cut down a tree? Is it wrong to eat meat?

Sometimes difficult to argue these points which is where I believe the definition of "Right" comes in.

Right

I could simply take the view that it is the exact opposite of my definition of "Wrong".
It kind of works, but the waters get muddied when one takes a series of actions, where the outcome is "Right", but we must do a few "wrongs" along the way.

An example would be:
You see someone being mugged. You go and thump the mugger.
You've set out to hurt the mugger (wrong), however the reason for doing it is to help the muggee (is that a word?) to escape (right).

It's one of those "the end justifies the means" scenarios, but does it? How do you assess beforehand whether the end would indeed justify the means?

A good example would be the Iraq war. Does the end justify the means?

OK, moving on, so what is my definition of right?

Definition of right

"To improve our society"

Likewise for "wrong", how do I define these terms?

Improve
This would be an easy answer if I jumped five steps forward. i.e. "Better quality of life, running water etc." but I need to stick to the principles.
I think "improve" means
Do less "wrong"s, and encourage the opposite of those wrongs (e.g. set out to help another member of our society"

Is that it?

Yes for today, that is it. I'm sure the above will need serious revision, but you have to start somewhere.

Looking forward, I intend to tackle (not necessarily in this order)

Balance of right and wrong
Morals and ethics
Religion
Politics
Economic models


...and I'll also blog about my search for employment, my relationships (friends and family), my goals (from financial success through to my hobbies such as golf & guitar) and some mickey taking out of the media stories.

Sorry it's a boring one tonight, but it is an important one.

UB41.