ETHICAL CONCEPT-GOOD [B.A.II, PAPERIII]

In most contexts, the concept of good denotes the conduct that should be preferred when posed with a choice between possible actions. Good is generally considered to be the opposite of evil, and is of interest in the study of morality, ethics, religion and philosophy. Good is anything that fulfills a need or satisfies a desire. Good can be more than one. Certain goods such as bodily goods, economic goods, and social goods are means to some higher goods. In a hierarchy of goods, at the top is the highest good, which is the ultimate end of human activity. To G.E. Moore, Good is indefinable because it is a simple notion and has no parts. Only that which has parts is definable. In Ethics, the word good is used both as an Adjective and as a Noun. The word ‘Good’ is derived from the German word ‘Gut’. It means anything valuable, useful or serviceable for some end or purpose, therefore desirable. As the term ‘good’ is too wide signifying anything that is desirable, one may use the expression ‘morally good’ to signify moral qualities. Hence, in ethics the word ‘good’ is used to express moral qualities.

It should be stated in this connection that the word ‘good’ is used both as an adjective and also as a noun. Thus when one speaks of ‘material and immaterial goods’, ‘a relative good’ and ‘the absolute or the highest good’ one evidently uses the word ‘good’ as a noun. Good/ used in this way implies ‘an object of desire or pursuit’, ‘anything that is sought’, e.g., wealth, health, courage etc. In Ethics, a distinction is drawn between good as an end and good as a means. If, for instance, happiness be good, then wealth and health as means of attaining happiness are also good. Again, if health be a good, then regular exercise, regulation of taking diet, taking of good medicine are also good as

means of securing good health. It will be easy now to understand the distinction between a relative good and the absolute or the highest good of man. A ‘relative good’ is a kind of good as a means, i.e., it is an object which is desired, not for itself, but for the sake of an ulterior end or good which, again, may be relative to a still higher end, and so on. ‘Absolute good’ means “the good which is desired for its own sake, and is not subordinate to any ulterior good.’’ In short, it is not the concept of good as a means to a higher good; it is however, the highest good- the ultimate end of human activity. Every voluntary action is relative to an end or object of desire. And among ends, there is gradation, culminating in the supreme end or the highest good which is the goal of life. Thus, the ultimate, absolute or highest good of man is intrinsically good in the sense that the same is desired for its own sake, and not desired for the sake of anything else. In other words, absolute good is not a means to attain any higher end or good. The highest good is the absolute good i.e. the supreme end. The subordinate goods are instrumental goods or relative goods. What is good has to do with benefits. Something that benefits something or someone else is called good for that thing or person. We can think of this instrumentally or biologically. Instrumentally, a hammer is good for pounding nails, and what is good for the hammer is what enables it to do so well. Biologically, air, water, and food are good for living beings. Thus Good is anything that fulfills a need or satisfies a desire. Good can be more than one. Certain goods such as bodily goods, economic goods, and social goods are means to some higher goods. In a hierarchy of goods, at the top is the highest good, which is the ultimate end of human activity. To G.E. Moore, Good is indefinable because it is a simple notion and has no parts. Only that which has parts is definable. In Ethics, the word good is used both as an Adjective and as a Noun. Khushbu fatma