Quote Originally Posted by realMakc
I don't know where you see this stuff in "my logic". I could quote myself again, but it is already written up there, so what's the point
The irony here is that you should consider that you aren't communicating your point clearly. What you think in your head is "good" communication is not reflected well in the reality of what you have written.

Quote Originally Posted by realMakc
I made this thread to not trash pirate bay topic further with philosophy debate. The point made there by FlashLAckey (I think) was that, whenever two people (groups of people?) disagree on what's "good", one of them is wrong (i.e., "good" is universal). My point was, that they disagree because "good" is always "good for someone", and as such might differ for different people (i.e., relative).
I think what is confusing about the way that you keep writing about this subject is that you have not clearly explained what you mean by "good." "Good" can be a lot of different things, depending on context. It could be what is good for someone in terms of health. Obviously, getting sentenced to death is not "good" for anyones health. Therefore, you could say, in that context, "good" is relative to who it is healthy for. "Good" could mean what is good for society. Obviously, allowing murderers to go free can be seen as not "good" for society. "Good" could also mean what is inherently good.

You are interchanging entirely different uses of the word into the same argument.

Quote Originally Posted by argonauta
I think that's correct. Maybe there's a village out there where children are killed when they aren't strong enough (Spaaaarta! ). Some countries think women shouldn't have the same rights as men...other countries think all americans are stupid...it seemed the past US government thought torture was a very bad thing, but it was good if it could save thousands of people...I haven't watched that new Nixon movie, but in the trailer, the reporter asks: 'So you can say the president can commit illegal acts?' and Nixon replies 'No, I'm saying that when the president commits them, it's not illegal'.

The views about what's right and wrong is not absolute...is abortion good or bad? should religion be taught in schools? should all code be opensource? is it ok for you to buy an ipod, knowing that the same money could help a kid in Africa so he doesn't die of hunger? Why is it bad to through stones at prostitutes, if the bible doesn't see that act as horrible...why is it bad to say f*ck infront of a kid, but it's ok among your friends? why is it immoral for a woman to show her breasts, unless it's because she's about to feed her baby?

If you stop and think a bit, I think you'll realize that a lot of everybody's behavior is based on what you were taught to do. How you dress, how you speak, your manners, etc. You are a reflection of a small piece of the society you live in, but keep in mind there are all kinds of societies out there. You are programmed to think and act a certain way, but different people are compiled with different code. It amazes me how so many people think that their truth is the only truth.

in the words of Bill Hicks: "Hitler had the right idea, he was just an underachiever"
That people simply hold different beliefs does not further the argument that all of them are equally valid or good. Also, what is "good" is not necessarily the same thing as "right and wrong", morality, etc.

Assuming that you are referring to morality here, I disagree. There are things that are inherently wrong, regardless of where you learned them or if there is a whole village of people that partake. I think that, in those cases, you were taught wrong or are part of a group that is involved in doing things that are wrong. It's why, imo, all over the world, there has been a consistent pattern toward similar basic values. Deep down, I think people know and recognize when they are doing something fundamentally wrong, even if there is confusion due to peer pressure (ie. Nazi's taking orders, etc.) or distorted teaching (ie. Lee Boyd Malvo).

I agree that people are programmed to believe certain things and are influenced by society. For example, some people are programmed to believe that, in order to be considered open-minded, you have to believe that there is no such thing as right and wrong.