The Pebbles Ripples.

My philosophy friends believe that good cannot exist without evil and vice versa. There is this whole philosophical argument around it. The argument is almost as popular as the "is there really a God" argument. Well, I happen to think that while evil is necessary, the world can do with a little less of it.
Especially true when the evil is fruitless and with no just cause. It is like an invalid argument. C does not result from A or B if they are not doing something that makes C true, therefore, why should C exist at all when D can do the job just as well...or some such nonsense.
I bear witness to this absent C evil a lot. All I can do is shake my head at it because it makes good people look bad and it drags innocent people into a situation that they have no business even knowing anything about in the first place. What snake will go to an orange tree and pluck an orange just to eat when snakes are predators in the first place? That makes no sense at all.
My point is that evil should not exist in abundance when there is not enough good to offset it. That makes no sense either. Remember the lady with the scales you see in a courtroom? It has to balance and without that balance, things begin to happen. Therefore, apparently, bad things are happening and maybe it is the second coming of Christ that everyone has been talking about or the end of the world.
So if all of this is blatantly evident, then why is there not anything done about it? I will explain. There is enough not caring and enough belief that one little act of kindness does not matter. The evil in all of us has beaten out any good there is left. Sure, we do kind deeds everyday but it is so far below the radar of being noticed that it is almost irrelevant that we even do such a thing.
Listen, folks, when someone tells you that one little pebble makes a big difference. If you dont believe me toss one into a still pond. That one little pebble has a ripple effect that eventually touches every square inch of that waters surface. Further, the "plop" sound reverberates through the air to our ears affecting the senses that we heard and seen the pebble hit the water. Underneath the surface, fish scatter and it hits the bottom eventually changing the landscape of the bottom to accomodate the fact that it fell there in the first place. To get even more depth out of the example, gravity is now pulling on that rock to keep it in place and every time a bottom feeder passes, a fish swims quickly nearby, or a plant grows near enough to push it aside, that pebble still has an impact. Also, the place where the pebble was before has left a pebble size space for something else to come along and occupy where it was.
Point being, while there are snakes in all of us, even the good that comes out of us, no matter how small or insignificant can have a positive impact in everything. If everyone were to cast a pebble in some form or fashion and good becomes of it, it grows from there because there is, essentially, more good in the world.
Those of us with children can do the same. So often we go through life too busy to see what is going on through the eyes of our children. STOP take a moment and revel in the wonder that they see the world in. Remember what it was like to stand in awe and truly experience the first sunset you REALLY noticed. I remember mine. I remember that, sometimes, being five is such a small place to be in such a big world and that mommy can make it better. I also try to remember that even though you are 13 or 14, you still need mom from time to time even if it is to talk about absolutely nothing or act silly in public just because. When my children get older (and for the step kids as well) I will try to remember that at 21, the world is not what it was made out to be and that I still need to be there for my kids no matter how awful they are. That, just to sit down, without a phone, television or other distraction and talk about how a lightbulb works will make the difference in their day and that is something that they will remember.
Toss that pebble, make life better, if even for a split second. The reverberations of that pebble last longer than you think. Holding the door for a perfect stranger to pass because they are using a walking stick makes a difference because, while you may not remember, they will.
I once had a lady sit in the booth next to mine in iHop. I was 16. I was miserable and thougth that life was truly the suckiest place to be. She chatted with me about absolutely nothing. The gloss on the menu, why people drive nice cars, and our coffee. She also told me to cast a pebble. She then proceeded to tell me that I will remember her. I may not remember her name and maybe not even what she looks like but I will remember the conversation. Guess what? I dont know her name, I remember brown hair and glasses and that she used her hands alot when she talked but I DID remember the conversation. She cast her pebble in my pond and the fish swim by every now and then and it moves. That is what I remember. Do you have pebbles in your pond? Why not cast some of your own?

Does Utilitarianism require that your units of happiness are fulfilled?

Utilitarianism in its most basic form is the greatest amount of happines for the greater good. Defined in units of happiness, basically: the more the merrier. It is based solely on actions and their outcomes. What happens if there is no happiness and no matter the act, no utility becomes of it. What then?

Does that mean that, we are utility empty? I will admit I did take a few philosophy classes and while the concepts still seem abstract, I did catch the basics (or so I thought I did.) Ok. Lets take an example:

One of the problems I remember in the discussion of utility was the subject of capital punishment. While taking the life of someone as punishment is a bit harsh, it does take from the total utility of the world, does it not? Well, you are reducing the units of happiness from the person in the electric chair because the KNOW they are going to die a horrible death. No utility in his corner at all. You are also taking from the utility of the family of the convicted. They are heartbroken by losing their son, brother, cousin, uncle, parent, whatever. While this convict may not be the best person in the world (innocence project aside, lets say he did it, end of story) he was still someone's family member, no matter what. Lost utility for many years to come. Everytime a family member or close friend thinks back upon this person, lost utility units right there. Further, the people who have to do this deed are supposed to be good people, after all, we do not hire convicts and killers and psychopaths to run prisons and be baliffs, guards, etc. They have GOT to lose some of their utility in participating in the act of the capital punishment. Bottome line, lots of lost utility. No doubt.

Conversely.......

The streets are rid of a (possibly) career criminal, the jails are not supporting this convict and the families this person has affected in a bad way (good vs evil argument here?) are happy that he is getting his just desserts. So, where do the scales balance? Well, we have to sacrifice the one for the greater good of the group. Therefore, the sacrifice of the one makes the utility of the whole group better....so the argument goes.

Now, lets think about a totally different scenario but the same basic concept. You have a group of people on an island. In order for the most people to survive and be comfortable, one of them has to be pushed into the pirahna infested waters that surround the island. Due to the ritual involved, it has to be done in such a way that the person pushed into the waters shall perish lest the pirhana god come and devour them all. (Island religion, go figure.) They use the concept of utility to choose the member to be "discarded." While all of them are equal otherwise, how is that you would choose one when all are equal contributing members to the society? Should it be the weakest? The oldest? The youngest? What would you do in this situation?

Were it your family, what choice would that be? Difficult? Yes. For me, I would not want that burden. However, a choice has to be made or everyone will be reduced to zero units of happiness due to the peril of the whole group. While I am very thankful that choices like that are not made in my little corner of the universe, there have been societies that have had to make life or death choices for survival and if you look at the very core of what those choices were, I am certain you can find utility played a part in them.

Off my soapbox now, what are your opinions on utility and what do you attribute to the greatest happiness for the greatest good?

(Sorry folks, random tags so I can generate some discussion here.)