Good or Evil?

How would you act?

  • Greater good

    Votes: 4 44.4%

  • Happiness of others

    Votes: 2 22.2%

  • Personal gain

    Votes: 2 22.2%

  • Don't know/Wouldn't use it.

    Votes: 1 11.1%
  • Total voters
    9
H

Haliwali

Spaceman
I saw this thread on another forum, and it seemed too good not to ask here.

It is not what a person does that makes them good or evil, it's what they WOULD do if they could do whatever they wanted with no repercussions. How you behave in Fable or games like that reflect this. So, how about you? Would you act for the greater good, your own good, or the good of everyone?.

My answer a year ago would have been for my good only, but I've changed A LOT since then. Now I'm a pretty altruistic person, acting more for the good of others than my own. Occasionally I slip up, but for the most part I would act for the happiness of others.

So how about you guys, what would you do and why?
 
I see the three basic schools of ethics here, but not the old-school morals system ("because God said so"). Oh well...
 
No repercussions is pretty much impossible. Because basically if I murder someone and even if it was 100% certain I would not face any jail/... there would still be some form of feedback. Like people starting to run away from you. Which is a form of repercussions.
So what would be needed would basically be a form of time jump back to before it happened, each time you do a decision. Which make the whole decision completely meaningless.

As far as computer games go I am usually moving between Chaotic Good and Chaotic Neutral (to use D&D conventions) as far as character building goes.
 
I would see myself trying to gain more and more power to solve life's problems. I'd do anything for the people I care for, even if that meant selling my soul. So I'd probably wind up like a Dark Jedi or something evil.
 
Actually, i really dont think that what you would do without repercussions would define good and evil. It's much easier to do good thing and sacrifice in theory than really do it. I can always say that i would give my home to the homeless, but would i ever really do it?
So i might as well say that it actually IS what person does that makes them good or evil, not what they would do...

Just my two cents...
 
agreed. "no repercussions" takes too much out of the equation to make it a meaningful question to me.

if "no repercussions" includes "no personal sacrifice" and "no effect on others" there wouldn't be much point in doing anything. No good can be done and no harm can be done. From the poll choices, it looks like "no effect on others" isn't actually part of the assumptions, though, right? Could you elaborate? I haven't played "Fable."
 
No repercussions: you would suffer no negative effect
Greater good: On the other forum, this was understood to mean something like you would kill one innocent to save three. Without negative repercussions.
Happiness of others: You would use your power to the exclusive betterment of those around you, with minimal personal gain.
Personal gain: Rape, pillage, and plunder. This one's kind of obvious, just do what you want without getting in trouble.

@Toast
You haven't played Fable or KotOR? What's wrong with you, pick them up now!
 
What I don't like is that personal Gainhas to mean rape, pilage and plunder. I would really like to choose all of them to some point. when I make decisions, i would like to have them balanced between my own good AND benefit of others. IE i would not give my home to homless because it would be to much against my own good, but on the other side, I would not become a rapist.

As for greater good - yep IE I would surely like to Kill QuaiPilot here as anyone who says he is beyond good and evil is a large danger to society and tends to end like Raskolnkiov
 
Various game spoilers ahead


The greater good though my view of what the greater good is sometimes leads me to the darker path. For examples in WCIV I chose Hawk's path when deciding whether to raid a shipyard or reinforce an allied planet, and Panther's path at the Superbase. In both Mechwarrior 4 and Fable I refused to sacrafice my sister to obtain the ultimate sword and ultimate mech because I knew I could acheive my objectives without them but in SW: KOTOR I chose the dark path because I felt that the galaxy would be better off if I ruled the galaxy and set an example for my successors then if Palpatine ruled it 4000 years later.
 
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