My Greed

[SoulWhisperer]

Sometimes I find myself pondering the definition of "evil"/"bad". But I wanna put a disclaimer that in my personal opinion "good" and "evil" are all concepts made by mankind and that no true good or true evil exist, the only thing that applies is whether or not we accept things as human race, socially.

I found myself asking myself "Am I a good/bad person?", and the answer was that I ultimately believe that I am a bad person. A bad person capable of good things, as many. But there's also this difference between assholes and bad people in general. There are some people that commit bad things voluntarily and some not, some are aware and some are not. I think being a bad person solidifies when you are both aware of your actions and not willing to change, in a way that produces harm. If you hurt someone or people and merely refuse to do anything about it, then it could be argued that being a "bad person" is more likely. Then there's also this "bad" that is more soft, doing things you know just "aren't the best", considering that many other people do worse.

Another firm belief of mine, even if I'm not exactly a religious person, is that, while I my interest in following doctrines and virtues for purely religious values, I found that of the designated so-called "7 sins" one specifically applies to humans in not a way directly tied to religion. Greed. I believe that we are all born with an innate greed that makes us always yearn for more and never be satisfied with what I have. I have a car, I want a better one. I got a better one, I want more. I make money, I want more money! This perpetual feeling of always setting yourself higher standards, merely because you fulfilled the steps below. But then there's also another side to this greed, another side of the coin. The one that not only makes you yearn for more, but that also makes you do anything for more, especially hurting people.

If you put a million bucks in a competition and allow people to do anything for it, without caring about laws and consequences, chances are that many people will do literally anything; even bending "personal values" (In this case can you truly call them such? If you are willing to forgo them simply because you're not threatened anymore by a punishment). Some people, example world leaders or the smallest % of rich folks that own most of wealth, they already have way more than the average human needs, yet I still think they are in pursuit of more and more. Some people are willing to go out of their way in job positions and corporate positions to push others under the bus for own benefit. Those two are the pungent sharp of my innate greed theory.

I believe that everyone has this things deep down in them, even atop of layers of presumed innocence, HOWEVER I also believe that one is able to rid themselves of this through iron will to change. I believe that the majority of people you find in this world are kind of assholes for a reason or another but I also believe that there are out there people that are genuinely good. People who would refuse to take advantage of others or let greed take over their decision-making and actions. It takes much and it takes long to override such thing and become people that genuinely want good. I think the discriminating factor here is intent and will. Whether or not, deep down, you truly care for others or not, and their suffering. (Of course though, everyone has a different life and different availabilities, everyone judges themselves personally)

Me personally, I think that I have a heart split. One that wants to love, one that wants to hate for all the shit in this world, and veins that surround it that are those of the innate greed. Letting go of certain things, certain things you hold onto as part of greed is necessary. It's a sacrifice, that you are willing to take or not take.

I never wanted true suffering of others, but all the harm I underwent definitely did not leave me unaffected. A suffering heart that tries to hold onto anything just to not fall, that is merely gasping for air. That however, is still possible to be defined "greedy" by my standards.

i explained this horribly, but i tried; little confused mind.

 

[Forever Sleep]

I think it's very complicated and- like you said- there are clearly degrees of good and badness.

But- take greed. Is it always bad? Someone who gives all their money/ resources away and lets their family starve doesn't seem to have their priorities in order. I think greed is present naturally to ensure the survival of our own genes. That isn't necessarily bad either. While it looks cruel in nature, it's supposed to ensure that the fittest survive. Of course, it's become extreme in human society.

I do know what you mean though. I've also asked that question of myself: Am I a good or bad person? I'd say I was somewhere in the middle. Hopefully leaning more towards being good. I mostly try not to hurt people.

There again- I don't go out my way to help people much. I've known people who were actively good. Who were always doing things to help others. I'm mostly actively selfish! Which- is a form of greed in a way. I am greedy over my time and energy. I use it on myself mostly- rather than to improve the lives of others. Which- I suppose is a way of being bad- when you realise it and do nothing to change.

Seeing as you mentioned religion, the fascinating thing I personally found in my own life- is that the most altruistic people were all atheists. Not to say that's true as a whole.

They weren't being kind in order to obey some rule or be rewarded in heaven. I got the sense more that they had a deeper love/ respect for their common human. They treated them well because they knew that was the only way this world would be a nicer place- if we were all more supportive of one another. I've found some religious people to be 'holier than thou' without actually being particularly kind.

 

[SoulWhisperer]

I think it's very complicated and- like you said- there are clearly degrees of good and badness.

But- take greed. Is it always bad? Someone who gives all their money/ resources away and lets their family starve doesn't seem to have their priorities in order. I think greed is present naturally to ensure the survival of our own genes. That isn't necessarily bad either. While it looks cruel in nature, it's supposed to ensure that the fittest survive. Of course, it's become extreme in human society.

I do know what you mean though. I've also asked that question of myself: Am I a good or bad person? I'd say I was somewhere in the middle. Hopefully leaning more towards being good. I mostly try not to hurt people.

There again- I don't go out my way to help people much. I've known people who were actively good. Who were always doing things to help others. I'm mostly actively selfish! Which- is a form of greed in a way. I am greedy over my time and energy. I use it on myself mostly- rather than to improve the lives of others. Which- I suppose is a way of being bad- when you realise it and do nothing to change.

Seeing as you mentioned religion, the fascinating thing I personally found in my own life- is that the most altruistic people were all atheists. Not to say that's true as a whole.

They weren't being kind in order to obey some rule or be rewarded in heaven. I got the sense more that they had a deeper love/ respect for their common human. They treated them well because they knew that was the only way this world would be a nicer place- if we were all more supportive of one another. I've found some religious people to be 'holier than thou' without actually being particularly kind.

It is indeed very complicated and I feel like there's no true answer, yep.

Is greed always bad? I think the way you put it was the instinct of self-preservation, probably. I can see why you'd say it's not bad, indeed. But when I meant greed I meant when you go out of your way to have more than you need for frivolities, definitely not including damaging others in attempt of survival, that's already a kind of different level. For the family example: I believe that if you have money to sustain others and waste it away that's not directly "greed" in my view because I didn't mean greed as a materialistic greed like "I want more, I'll use money on myself" but more of a "I don't care about others and the only thing I want is the betterment of me at anyone else's loss". If you waste away family money it could also be just foolishness depending on the intention, but my idea here was that I was talking about a different type of greed.

Survival of the fittest could either mean simple survival of who fits OR the one who fits the most gains the most. I think the first is more acceptable than the other. The idea that you're "rich/wealthy because you fit more" is not something I'm against; what I am against is the view and what you do with it. If you flaunt your richness, gain it through the direct damage of others forsaking any sort of empathy, then that's what I am against. The core idea of my greed is mostly intention and the type of greed that never makes you satisfied and willing to damage others for self gain directly.

Deliberately hurting people can indeed, in my view, fall under a closer "bad person" label, if nothing is done about it and it could be avoided easily (If it can't be avoided easily then my mind is more lenient, as I understand struggles can obstacle people and lead them to choose certain things over others).

To connect about your intention to help others and energy paragraph: I connect back to the idea I just mentioned about greed being mostly about intention and damage willingness. I don't see someone who's just about themselves as inherently greedy, that's closer to "neutrality" to me because I determine greed through what's deep down over ordinary actions such as helping someone every now and then. If deep down you'd rather harm others for self gain, disregard how they feel, then that is greed to me. Just wanting to spend time and energy for self is not something I'm against directly, everyone is free to use their time however they want, everyone is free to choose what battles they fight for and when to help others, without any minimum requirements that would make you q "good person" (Intention over current quantity of actions). And struggle also pleases an attenuating role, in my opinion.

I briefly mentioned religion but I don't wanna delve into it (I talked about greed in a mostly social way rather than religious, despite the mention) but you brought an interesting point with the final part.

 

[jw_sisyphus97]

What we define as greed is actually just a deep-seated desire to try to cope with past struggles. We shouldn't torture ourselves under the weight of "good" and "evil" - you recognize that these are just human constructs. But knowing the rules are man-made doesn't life the burden of having to navigate them unfortunately. But fighting against the "bad person" label is just adding an extra layer of superficial cruelty.