Wisdom and Cheese (General)

by dhw, Friday, December 02, 2011, 17:17 (4548 days ago) @ Balance_Maintained

TONY: If you had looked at some of the other materials on the site, you might have also noticed that there is not a Hebrew word for good and bad. Those are abstracts much more in line with Greek thinking than Ancient Hebrew. The words most often translated as good and bad are simply 'functional and dysfunctional', what works, and what doesn't. More specifically, "dysfunctional" as in something that does not function within its intended purpose, and "functional" as its opposite, or something that DOES function within its intended purpose.
Which brings me back around full circle to the concept of sin (sorry Bella, its just a useful word) as a binary concept of correct and not correct, functional or dysfunctional.

Ugh, maybe there was more on the site than I saw. It did talk of “good and bad”: e.g. xx is the root of the Hebrew word hhakam and is related to the idea of “separating”, as this word means “one who is able to separate between what is good and bad.” But I’m in absolutely no position to discuss Hebrew with you. I abandoned it long, long ago, and have not the slightest desire to renew my acquaintance with it!

I’m probably being dense, but I’m not sure what you’re actually getting at. What exactly is the point of digging into the possible meanings/interpretations of ancient Hebrew terminology? We have enough trouble reaching agreement on our modern terms! For instance, I find your earlier equation of sin with “mistake” incongruous. Saying ‘tomato’ instead of ‘potato’ is a mistake, but would you really describe the rape and murder of a child as a ‘mistake’ or as ‘not correct’? We have different words to describe different actions and concepts, and that is how and why language evolves. Of course what is considered right/wrong, good/bad, virtue/sin will depend on each society, or even each group within society, or even each individual within society. What, then, is the relevance to us of the terminology or even the morality of the Ancient Jews? My basic rule is that if actions cause unnecessary harm to others, they’re bad. If they make others happy, they’re good. That is all we chocolate-eaters know, and maybe all we need to know.