Goodness . Natural inclination towards the good, kindness, softness of character.
Summary
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- 1 Meanings
- 2 Goodness as value
- 3 Goodness in philosophy
- 4 Goodness in the Bible
- 1 The Word of God declares
- 5 Manifestations that describe goodness
- 6 Sources
Meanings
Goodness is the quality of good. It is identified with the characteristic of good people. It is also the natural inclination or tendency to do good. Goodness is applied to the character of a person, an object or an action to indicate that it is good. It is also identified with the word ‘sweetness’, for example, ‘He helped the old man to get up with kindness’.
The term goodness, is an abstract noun, comes from the Latin “pretty”, formed from “bonus” which means “good” and the suffix “-tat” which changes to Spanish as “dad” which expresses “quality”, therefore , goodness is quality of good.
The term kind is an adjective that is used to indicate a person full of kindness, of mild temper, the kind person is characterized by being a person who does good and promote all that is good for the people around him. To be kind is to be benevolent, kind, and try to enlist the help of another.
The antonym of the word goodness is evil , a negative characteristic of a person that reflects the absence of goodness, charity, or affection for his neighbor.
Goodness as value
Goodness is an abstract term impossible to quantify. It has been treated in topics of Philosophy , Religion , Ethics and Morals. When a person or an action is identified as kind, it is usually associated with other values such as solidarity, generosity, humility or respect. In these terms goodness is not considered simply as the absence of evil, since goodness is not limited to avoiding evil, but also to promoting good.
Goodness in philosophy
For Socrates , goodness is a state of the soul and wisdom the essence, although Plato supported the idea of Socrates, I consider that reason is the one that must dominate at all times. In turn, Inmanuel Kant, postulated that the good or the bad depends on the will of the human being since it is she, in the conduct of man, where evil or goodness prevails. Aristotle, indicated that all human beings have the ability to be good and that they should develop the ability through practice through virtuous actions, in conclusion for this philosopher, goodness was a matter of habit. In reference to this, I quote Aristotle “A state is better governed by a good man than by a good law .”
Goodness in the Bible
In general, human beings are kind to family or friends, better said only to the people they love, but as Jesus said , the individual must be kind to those who love him and to ungrateful people. The Bible explains that the individual surrounds himself with grateful people as ungrateful, disloyal, but despite this the Christian, who follows the teachings of Jesus, should not act in the same way, since as the Bible says in Romans 12 : 17 “Do not return evil for evil to anyone. Provide excellent things for all to see. ”
The human being, by being kind, knows God better and has a life of happiness, despite many times the acts are not taken into account or be thanked by others, man should not allow himself to act with kindness since, as expressed by the Bible in the book of Matthew: “Blessed are those who help, for they will receive help. Blessed are the pure in heart , for they will see God. ”
God’s Word declares
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love , joy , peace , patience , kindness , goodness , faithfulness , meekness , self- control ; against such things there is no law. Galatians 5: 22-23 ”
“Then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, put on tender compassion, kindness, humility, meekness and patience ; Colossians 3:12 ”
Manifestations that describe goodness
- Piety
- Mercy
- Tenderness
- Clemency
- Indulgence
- Compassion
- Humanity
