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Chapter Two

Basic Good and Evil Powers

The ancient view of good and evil is so different from modern views that a direct comparison cannot be made. Instead, we will describe the ancient views with their logic and practicality before introducing the status of good and evil in the modern world. In order to do this, we must also discuss the terms beauty and union in a manner quite different from the way they are generally used today. 

The old basic understanding of good, union and beauty can be perceived in the simple statement:  “Good is anything which unites an individual or object with beauty.” Union is a creative and intermediary force that allows elements of goodness to be manifested as beauty. Beauty pleases, stimulates, is timeless and serves as an opening to divine perfection. Goodness is the force behind evolution, creation and beauty. Without goodness there can be no value to life.[1] The elements of good and beauty are metaphysical absolutes[2] that only appear with the intention or dedication to obtain more from life. In the third century CE, Plotinus wrote extensively on the metaphysical nature of goodness and beauty using the terms as they were then accepted in the Graeco-Roman world.[3]  He can be summarized as stating that beauty and goodness are the basis for an authentic existence that increases individual powers and the scope of life, while evil and ugliness are the opposite.[4]

The steps of Proverbs 16:9 are directed by Yehovah and are certainly good. Goodness is like the rungs of a ladder that need to be used to reach the beauty envisioned with inner longing[5] or yearning.[6]  Goodness is all of the changes that open the personal world and its scope in order that beauty can be obtained. The yearning releases inner powers that bring forth or create the elements of goodness that lead to the desired state of beauty. This can all be expressed with the quite common experience of an individual who has a deep desire to obtain some goal or enrichment of life and then reports the series of unexpected good things that happened that provided steps to the goal. Goodness is often experienced as a result of someone else’s actions, but more often it is the discovery of an inner power or skill that brings it about.

Goodness, beauty, union, evil, and ugliness were all considered to be metaphysical forces rather than something tangible that could be learned, taught or done. It needs to be remembered that metaphysical forces or powers are hidden, unseen, or non-physical yet still are able to be manifested in a physical form that can be perceived in the physical world.[7]

The above definitions can be further clarified by Science which furnishes examples that certainly match the ancient usage of the metaphysical terms. Let us, therefore turn to nature for an example of goodness and express it in terms that would have been quite acceptable to the ancients. An excellent example that everyone can identify with is the goodness of a tree mastering its environment and increasing its beauty.

Everyone has seen a tree which has one extended limb that was evidently seeking more sunlight. The growth of that limb is obviously good since it increases the energy that the tree can obtain. In order to explain that odd limb, let us anthropomorphize the tree in order to introduce metaphysical concepts which the ancients were quite adept at using. Consider first that the tree is somehow aware of the need for more sunlight and somehow perceives a gap in the forest canopy and yearns to be able to capture the additional energy of the sun coming through that gap. The resulting yearning sets into motion a very complex metaphysical power that is called the Life Force in the modern world. The uniting power of that Life Force then somehow selects, brings together and manifests the goodness within the tree. This goodness consists of the proper forms of energy and the required building materials uniting at the proper site and at the proper time to construct the new growth.

Science is acutely aware of the tremendous evolutionary powers that are manifested with the growth and maturity of children. These powers are obviously controlled to a large extent by each child as well as to some degree by his or her outer world. Maslow noted that a critical level of externally supplied goodness must exist within each child’s outer world for initial growth and maturing, but then a child must find an inner source of goodness if evolution to a ‘fully human’ state is to take place.[8] This individual growth of a child might be compared with the growth of a sapling which satisfies its basics needs in order to grow, but then some special inner forces of goodness are required if that sapling is to outgrow other saplings and become a fully developed tree in the woods.

The Nobel Laureate Erwin Schrödinger (a physicist) gives further definition and examples of the metaphysical powers within Life in his wonderful book, What is Life? His message can be related to the controlled growth of the tree when he comes to the conclusion that he, like the tree, is somehow able to direct the inner Life Force to control his body. However, it should be pointed out that the tree represents a more fundamental aspect of the Life Force that takes its energy directly from the sun which a human is unable to do. Schrödinger therefore defines Life (of the higher life form) as the creative and unifying power that must constantly overcome an opposing, destructive, unseen force known as Entropy. This is done by the continual consumption of other life forms to replace that which is constantly being destroyed. This battle reflects ancient concepts of the interaction of the expansive inner power of Goodness and the contractive powers of Evil. This is particularly so since the scientific descriptions of increasing Entropy sound like the actions of some ancient evil god of destruction and chaos. For instance, increasing Entropy is blamed for rising disorder, separation and confusion in the world as well as the decrease in available energy. Scientists believe that Entropy will ultimately result in the decay of the entire universe into a homogenous mess or chaos.

There is some strange connection between goodness and evil or the Life Forceand Entropy. Any living structure must have a force of assimilation as well as a force of elimination.[9] Similarly, evolution must have forces that engender the new as well as the forces that assuage the old. Perhaps one of the best examples of this is the difficult experience of the letting go of childish ways to become a full adult. There is a strong tendency to tightly cling to those things that once seemed to enrich the world even though the world has changed.

Religions have universally described the inability to fully trust in the steps toward beauty as an evil force. The Graeco-Romans described this evil force as that which causes an athlete to miss the target when casting a spear. The original word in Greek is hamartano [10] which is translated today as sin. Thus, a sin was a force that caused the missing of a personally chosen goal. A further hint of the original view of sin can be obtained from the word dikaios[11] which was applied to an individual without sin. This word meant ‘equal, even or well-balanced’, as well as ‘legally exact and precise.’ Such an individual was called righteous, able to follow and stick to the right path leading to personal perfection.

Religions were also nearly unanimous in describing those individuals who ‘missed the mark’ as being in darkness, unable to see clearly the steps or the goal. Similarly, those who could manifest their inner visions or goals were declared to walk in light. However, the old religions, as well as Maslow, agree that those walking in the light are a very small minority who have nearly always assumed some responsibility in assisting others to find the light or the inner powers that provide the light.

There have been few philosophical writings concerning the powers that keep the majority of mankind in darkness. Historically these people have been viewed as being a homogeneous mass of humanity without individuality and labeled in the descriptive term, the masses. They seem to have been quietly ignored by philosophers perhaps because their state of having missed the mark was accepted as the responsibility of religion to define, explain and correct.

However, this silence was loudly shattered when a Spanish philosopher, Jose Ortega y Gassett, wrote a well-researched book[12] on the subject in 1929 CE. Ortega wrote about the changes that had taken place in the masses in Europe as well as in the US during the preceding two centuries. His view of the social changes within the masses is unusual, since he views the changes from the position of a self-actualized or fully human, creative aristocrat. When Ortega therefore stresses how the aristocrats or the intelligentsia are losing power over the masses, his motives are certainly open to being questioned. However, he presents another startling observation that the masses have likewise lost power, and both the aristocracy and the masses are reacting more and more as a mindless mob. Both are driven primarily by ‘Public Opinion.’ Further, those individuals acting as rulers of society are mostly specialists relying upon learned skills, wisdom and transferred power rather than being the dikaios  (i.e. fully human individuals with developed inner powers who can find union with others and the world). Instead of leaders who ‘see the big picture,' the modern world relies upon leaders who see only a very small piece of it and specialists who attempt to integrate the pieces.

According to Ortega, the loss of accepted leadership and individual powers is resulting in the agglomeration of people into larger and larger groups. We would describe it as people huddling together without a sense of leadership and in fear of the unknown. The larger the group, the safer it can appear, and so mass reactions are used to select beliefs, entertainment, lifestyles and values. As individuals identify with groups or the masses, the less their inner powers are used and the less individualistic they become until they are in fact no different from others. Ortega also cites how individuals have become ‘spoiled’ with the effective largess of our industries and government that, in supplying them with the basic needs and security of life, have made them unappreciative of what they have. As with spoiled children, the masses also believe they have power because others appear to listen to their demands. 

There has been a more recent related study on the masses[13] by Robert Putnam of Harvard which indicates a further rising problem associated with the electronic age. He describes the increasing membership of individuals into card carrying groups such as the AARP or the Sierra Club who have strong political power because of their membership. However, they have a non-interactive membership, which is increasing the isolation of individuals while also making them responsive to institutional publications and political stands. Putnam takes the name of his book from his observation that people are playing alone today instead of in groups and that interactive groups are becoming smaller. He gives an example that church membership is gradually declining with individuals defining their own religious beliefs and trusting other individuals less and less. 

Ortega’s and Putnam’s observations are certainly applicable to today’s teenage gangs. Modern teenagers are reacting in general as being spoiled with less and less concern for necessities and responsibilities for others. They can be compared to the card carrying memberships of their parents as they follow the statements of entertainment or athletic leaders which they quickly adopt as their own. Perhaps the largest concern for teenage gangs is that they appear to be more motivated by the words of a rap star than by any member within their own gang (the rap star is of course also highly dependent upon the opinion of their teenage fans).

It is doubtful if many people would disagree with our summary that in today’s world most people live in their own isolated and powerless world. They are far more concerned by ‘what someone might think’ or public opinion than by any institutional decree or even their own thoughts or desires. It is also apparent that most people believe that they have everything they basically need and hence they have no need to consider any significant changes in their thinking, beliefs or lifestyles, particularly if effort is required. In their present world of darkness, there is certainly no concern for reaching for more beauty, goodness or finding their own inner powers. They judge themselves good because they heed public opinion.

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