Do you think you are a "good" person?

[Aven]

Why or why not? Explain your reasoning [sounds like a test huh?], or do you have another definition for "good person"?

[thod]

No I am not a good person. I am a rational person and that rationality may force me to sometimes do evil. I think more in terms of advantage and disadvantage than good and evil.

If only I could remove the last vestiges of sympathy that keep me doing good things, then I could set aside my humanity and be one with the mind of God.

[Homini Lupus]

I'm probably bad from a normal point of view since for normal people what is good is what is normal.

[Hdier]

Yes, I think I'm a good person.

Basically, I'm a self-righteous asshole. My morals are correct, and I follow them, therefore I am a good person. That's all of the reasoning I need.

[azelismia]

By my definition I am a very good person. Or at least I try to be. No one is perfect.

[Dreamer]

I am an extremly good person. I just pursue my uber-moral goal through immoral means.

[SerialPsychosis]

To many people I'm not a good person. I'm often viewed as distant, uncaring, cold, and as having generally flat affectivity. I've also heard that I frustrate people because 99% of the time I have an answer for things, and I tend to not sugarcoat things. So, according to a great majority of the population of which I am unfortunately forced to deal with on an almost daily basis- I am a bad person.

To others, however- The same traits are skewed into a more positive light.

Good and Bad are entirely subjective, so it's not an easy question to answer.

I think I'm mostly alright. I have some rough edges here and there but they are there on purpose. So, in terms of good and bad I guess you could say I'm just about neutral.

[Airfire]

I as well am not viewed as a "good" person in the eyes of a the general populace. I share many traits that are mentioned above. I am viewed as cold, aloof, uncaring, evil, and even a downright sociopath (it's been said to me many times). My lack of emotion and logical response to anything yields people to have a misconstrued idea of who I am. Sure, I may not have the "ideal" reaction or physical demeanor 90% of the time, but people take it as a very negative first impression. On the contrary, those who know me more deeply (very few) consider me to be very smart, kind-hearted, logical, and quiet person who keeps to himself.

Personally though, my moral standards are in tune with what is innate in most humans, so I am a "good" person but just (like many of us INTJs) misunderstood. I do not drink alcohol, smoke, do drugs, nor have a criminal record of any kind--I may be dull to most, however my individuality is important to me, and I see it as a virtue to my personality and who I am. I would rather be unique and an outcast any day instead of average and a socialite.

[Malotis]

No. I'm neither good nor evil, I simply am.

I don't think anything I do can constitute as "good" or "bad," though I'm sure there are many who would attempt to define actions using these terms.

The problem is that short of throwing in an all powerful being into the equation, there's no systematic or objective system to judge which of these actions are good and which of these actions are bad.

Sure I have my subjective perceptions, but I haven't really got much to convince me that my subjective perceptions are the correct perceptions.

[Vertigo]

I'm a very good person, manners, polite, friendly (well I'm not rude) (ok maybe everyone else thinks I'm arrogant, but I'm not), I treat others the way I want to be treated.

[Synamon]

Overly sensitive people and those with no sense of humor think I'm evil.

Being Canadian I am also well mannered and polite and friendly. So that's a point on the good side.

Being me I'm a smartass. Not sure if that's good or bad.

I tend to agree with one of the earlier posts, being 'good' means being normal and I'm definitely not normal. One more for the dark side.

Is anyone really either good or bad? People with the best intentions often cause the most harm. Maybe it makes more sense to ask if you make the world a better place. And I believe I do make it better for the people in my little world. So I'm good.

[Vertigo]

Being a smartass is great of the other person thinks it's funny and you can both laugh lol.

[sriv]

Relatively, yes.

But Good and Evil are such vague terms.

[AgentofGaming]

But Good and Evil are such vague terms.

Not to mention quite subjective.

Bending the definitions I'd say I'm a reasonable person. I try to do what's practical (although not always) and mutual beneficial to me and those around me.

[Double Victory]

I try. I live with as much integrity as I can, but I have been known to tear people apart when I get really disgusted with them. If it makes it any better, I always feel guilty afterwards. (Sometimes that afterwards is several years later, though....)

I am extremely oriented towards good rather than evil--so much so that in video games where you have the option of making your character evil, I can't do it. (The exception is GTA.... you can't really play those games and be a good person at the same time.)

The only things that might make me "evil" are my tendencies to agree with "mad scientists," or scientists who run tests that the general populace would not agree with. I don't like testing on animals, and I highly doubt I could do it myself, but I don't necessarily think it shouldn't be done. I have the same opinion when it comes to testing on humans.

[PHS Philip]

I'm not good or bad. I'm just a person. I'm unfair sometimes, I'm unkind sometimes. And sometimes I'm fair, sometimes I'm kind. I don't think that people are good or bad, in general. They just do the best they can with what they are. Of course they're going to be selfish jerks sometimes, but it's very rare that you find someone who doesn't also care about others. Good and bad are far too black and white. People are a little bit lighter or darker a shade of gray, but they're almost never far enough one way or the other for me to call them "good" or "bad"

[niffer]

I think I'm a good person. Nobody else has really had any problems with how I am, and I certainly love myself. I like seeing others happy, I'm sure these good intentions for society and people mean I am a good person. Oh yes. Just thinking about myself makes me feel warm and fuzzy. *hugs self and rolls around on floor*

[Rhiannon]

Overly emotional people think I'm an awful person. This is because of my often brutal honesty. If you're bothering me, I'm going to say so. It's nothing personal, it's a fact.

It's my brutal honesty that gets me into trouble with people. But does that make me a bad person? I think honesty, as unpleasant as it can be, is a trait of a good person.

[fonmaneal]

I am EVIL.
It is quite enjoyable.
Not as evil as those polite Canadians.
Bad, Bad Canadian:)

[Rowan]

Why or why not? Explain your reasoning [sounds like a test huh?], or do you have another definition for "good person"?

‘Good’ is a social construct, an intersubjective label employed to describe certain behaviours and the individuals associated with said behaviours. It is not an essential feature of my ego or self – or anybodies ego or self. Of course, by my own values I might clarify myself as ‘good’, but I don’t know what significance, if any, such a self-evaluation has. Still, you were probably looking for a less philosophical answer; in which case, I would say yes. I consider myself compassionate, understanding and respectful – I believe the consensus view is that these things are ‘good’.

[Vivid]

I am good by my own standards. I try to do what is morally right and necessary. I'm not especially sweet or charming, nor do I go out of my way to help others, but the world isn't in great need of that. I only think about what will cause the best general outcome for everyone, then take that path.

[Timdotz]

I'm considered bad mostly. Maybe because I'm mildly kleptomanic, or is it because I'm not afraid of pointing things that need to be corrected?

[saakeli]

What a pleasant surprice to find that I'm not the only one considering to be a bad person.
Why do I see myself as bad, it's because I kind of lack the social friendlines, so I tend to get things done even though someone might cry.

[tyrantofthought]

Well for one thing, I don't really see anything(at least i try to) as good or bad. But I guess most people would think of me as a very good person . . . except they'd probably not like my reasoning. I don't do 'bad' things because either my instincts force me on it that its wrong, but also because the consequences are not worth it. Take for example quite some time ago I had a seething hate for a certain person. Why did I not kill him? 1) I promised not to, and i could never break that promise. 2) I don't feel like having the stress of blood on my hands, and 3) Its not worth it(pretty much ruining my life). Had #1 not been there and #2 not been strong enough, #3 would have still prevailed. So in a way i dont do things that are bad mainly because I don't like the consequences, that or theres little to no reason to do those bad things. Give me the time and place and I will do something 'bad' in some peoples eyes and no one could tell me so.
But in the end, my morales do largely govern everyday life, but I make sure to have logic take over if its high risk situations ;)

[Antares]

'Moral middle' hardly exists in our society. To me, good is the act of consciously doing good, like charity. Neutral is doing nothing to help the SiChuan Victims. Bad is... Well... Making the situation worse. Like thod, I'm just 'rational'. Nothing else. My logic dictates all, even my morals.

[Rei]

From Antares' analysis, I lean toward the "good" side.

I tend to do good things: charity, volunteer work, helping people if only it is within my ability. I will not however, sacrifice myself for something else unless it has indefinably greater value than what I had to sacrifice.

I value honesty over being nice though. It's hard to say whether that is a "good" thing or a "bad" thing.

[Genuine]

I believe I am a good person. Everything I've done so far is for someone's benefit, including mine.

[ssrprotege]

The thing I can say for sure is that, if the word "good" is used in a Platonic sense, I know I will never be a "good" person because a Platonically good person cannot simply exist. :p

[Aven]

... Still, you were probably looking for a less philosophical answer; in which case, I would say yes. I consider myself compassionate, understanding and respectful – I believe the consensus view is that these things are ‘good’.

Not really, I simply wanted to see how people would respond to a question like this, the simple fact that they responded and how they responded says something about them.

So in essence I wasn't looking for any type of answer, anything goes.

I don't really believe in "good" and "evil", however, I notice that I use the word good more than evil, if at all, I almost never say "that's evil" as some people tend to do.
Of course our perspectives are all different, and it IS all subjective, to a certain extent, personally I follow what I think I can live with, I suppose this means as long as my conscience doesn't fuck with me I'm alright with doing whatever.
This has changed over the years of course, not a lot interests me now, people are kinda boring unless they somehow end up being interesting, but that is indeed rare.

[Eric86]

Well, everyone I've ever met has said that I am a good person, even to the point of some people saying that I'm perfect, but I would only [mostly] agree with that on certain aspects of myself, or at least I'd understand why they'd say that about me (even though I'm really not, but they don't see it that way).
a Platonically good person cannot simply exist. :p
What exactly does that mean?

[Radamisto]

I am a follower of Epicurus. According to the standard of my ethics I am indeed a good person. I am fully aware of the fact that most popular ethical systems are quite different from mine and that in their light I am not a good person at all, but at best a chaotic one.

[Mercury]

I think I am a good person. I am attracted to goodness in other people. I like feeling good. I like being happy. I like being around other happy people. I like doing good things for other people just because. I like it when people do good things for me. I look for the good in myself and others. I reach for goodness like a plant stretches toward the sun.

Part of my personal moral code of conduct is that I try not to inflict harm on others. This includes emotional harm and verbal harm. I am not always successful but since I have started living in this way I have become more conscious of both my negative and positive impact on others. I like having a positive impact on others. When I have a negative impact, I feel the pain of it. It does not make me feel good inside to be negative. I would rather make someone feel good with my words than bad. I would rather inspire kindness and warmth in others than fear, mistrust, and misery. Yes, I am a good person.

[Monte314]

People that know me would probably say that I am a very good person.

But I know that, while I want to do what is right, I often don't, and I am not "good".

[WiredBrain]

Socially speaking, I have "good" intentions. I respect other people's points of view, I try to understand them individually, and I consider it one of my best human qualities (there are not to many though). But when it comes to imagining ways to fulfill my own visions for the world, I think people in general would find some thoughts a bit "unmoral", and so, in tones of grey, tending to dark. Maybe it's because I'm a control freak. :laugh:

Overall, I'm not a "good" nor an "evil" person.

[Ool]

By my own standards of “good…”

The objective we should work towards is a technologically advanced state in which we can share other people’s memories and relive them as if they were our own and not mind most of those memories too much if we had to pick them at random…

And the whole world has to answer right now
Just to tell me what I am.
Who’s good…?

[echoi]

I am a good person in that I care deeply for those I care about. Otherwise....well, at least I can say I'm not a particularly bad person...

[OneBadMother]

I don't think that I am a good person, but I think that I am a person who sometimes does good things. I'm mostly self-interested and while I do take other people into consideration, I usually don't care enough about them to go out of my way to help them. Most of my less admirable actions focus on achieving my goals with as little harm to others as possible.

[Latte]

I'm not a good or a bad person, and as far as I'm concerned, neither is anyone else. How an individual really is far more complex than any label or list of "traits" can ever describe.

I probably act kinder and friendlier than most. I also do not believe I have to, I just want to. I merely assess another person's need for my effort as higher than mine in many cases. There's no "I'm a good person" thought afterward. There's no "I'm bad" thought as punishment if I don't.

Helping each other is in the interest of us all, and I see no reason for why I should spend my time working towards some sort of goal, agenda or pleasure for myself instead of others (or vice versa). It comes down to choosing freely what I want to do.


No I am not a good person. I am a rational person and that rationality may force me to sometimes do evil. I think more in terms of advantage and disadvantage than good and evil.

If only I could remove the last vestiges of sympathy that keep me doing good things, then I could set aside my humanity and be one with the mind of God.

If you're "forced" to do "evil" due to being a "rational person" it means you have some sorts of goals to achieve and/or status to maintain. Is it there a solid logic to go for those goals and/or maintaining that status?

[enWTFp]

To be or not to be a good person? Is Hamlet a good person, after all? Is the world good? Does the world deserve me to be good?

According to ENFJs I'm bad, because I won't be able to organize manipulation consciously to achieve a higher goal, and they could easily fool me.
According to INTPs and ENTJs I'm bad, because I can't demonstrate consistent value system and act upon it. I keep trying to improve, so any statement I make is more of a experiment with myself.

"Good" means "short-sighted", I guess. The more I see, the less I know, the more I'd like to let it go.

The answer is the family. One can live at their best and perceive themselves fully as "good", as long as they have a loving family to share their values. Sure, value systems are so different among people, but when you share yours, you are confident, you don't feel selfish, because there's someone who is the reason, someone who supports you. I would cross any boundaries - personal or social - for my family, and I wouldn't think I'm a bad person, as long as they agree with me that I did what was right.

When I had a family I was a good person. I had enemies, I had friends; I had losses, I had wins, because I had fights. Right now somehow I can't determine myself as good or bad. I'm neither.

Most people still say to me that I'm too good for my own sake, though.

[BlackMita]

It's not practical for me to think of myself in terms of good or bad. I do things, and others will assign what is good and bad. I could tally up these accounts of good and bad, under specific conditions, to help me reach some conclusion... but there are more realistic, less subjective measurements for bettering my future actions or behaviors in some way.

It's not difficult for others to see me as a good person (polite, accommodating, etc). However privately, I'm not comfortable when people glean over my character and just assume I'm all these nice things by default. I've thought that if anyone had access to my thoughts process (or 'moral' compass) they'd either invest much less trust in me, or be shocked to the point where interacting with them would become permanently strained.

[Airius]

Ehhhh, on what terms?

I've always done the best that I could and can do.
I've done right, wrong, good and bad. I live in a large grey area of intentions.

[NephilimAzrael]

No.. I am not a good person. Not at all.


I'm a fucking great person.

[True Rune]

Me? Good? No. But I want to be.

[Dave C C]

I try to be good, I also fail a lot.

[Colette]

I'm a very good person, manners, polite, friendly (well I'm not rude) (ok maybe everyone else thinks I'm arrogant, but I'm not), I treat others the way I want to be treated.

This is pretty much me. I can be opinionated and am very direct, but my basic values and way of treating others are pretty good. It doesn't get me far in life...to the point where I wonder at times if it's better just being an asshole.

[Mechanical Messiah]

From what I've seen, opinions on what make a "good" person vary quite a bit... and I've got no interest in meeting these rather arbitrary criteria.

I just want to have an enjoyable, comfortable, and fulfilling life. Turns out that the actions that help me work toward this goal also lead people to believe that I'm a 'good' person. I don't hurt anybody (on purpose... though I think I hurt my foreman's feelings the other day). I go out of my way to help people. I try to improve things both actively and in passing. Works well enough for me, and I think I've got most people fooled.