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Why is it a bad thing if the moral is usually that goodness triumphs? Seems better than arbitrary person triumphs. Also, Macbeth is a story about one bad act d

Why is it a bad thing if the moral is usually that goodness triumphs? Seems better than arbitrary person triumphs. Also, Macbeth is a story about one bad act dooming Lord and Lady Macbeth. So when is this shift meant to have taken place? In the Bible, the main guy goes around healing and feeding the sick and turning the other cheek. His life starts and ends with power hungry figures trying to kill him. Let's keep working backwards. Wasn't the Minotaur a pretty evil guy? Just sits there eating virgins until a hero selflessly, bravely, and cleverly manages to slay him. I'm not convinced.

bornonline1 9y ago
You see, your whole worldview is based on good vs bad. Not with true nature's of people. What's true is that we want to survive, we want cheap convenience , we want it our way. You delusion yourself and your friends with good and bad to justify horrible actions. True Honesty is more admirable even if you cause great harm, because we are just animals who have advanced tools.
tboyd47 9y ago
I think the point the author is trying to make is that there may be a connection between the "moral physics" (as she puts it) in modern folktales and the genocidal nature of war in the modern world. It seems like the intent of these stories is to nurture a sense of innate moral superiority in the audience, often for explicitly political purposes, as she mentions with the Robin Hood story. The protagonists in these stories never go to war except against people who are true villains and have no morals at all, so it's as if war draws a line between good and evil so clearly that it justifies wiping your enemies off of the face of the earth completely. If the point of telling a story is to create a shared experience like a football game, where the audience roots for a certain side to win, then yes, it's better for the "good guys" to win. But why is that the point of stories? If we look at ancient folktales, it becomes harder and harder to root for the good guys, if there even are any. If there is a moral battle, it's between two individuals, not an army of good and an army of evil, like in Star Wars or Lord of the Rings. It's a pretty broad, sweeping claim to make, but I think she brought enough historical examples to make a strong case. We can't go back in time and ask the ancients themselves.

bornonline1 9y ago

You see, your whole worldview is based on good vs bad. Not with true nature's of people. What's true is that we want to survive, we want cheap convenience , we want it our way. You delusion yourself and your friends with good and bad to justify horrible actions. True Honesty is more admirable even if you cause great harm, because we are just animals who have advanced tools.

tboyd47 9y ago

I think the point the author is trying to make is that there may be a connection between the "moral physics" (as she puts it) in modern folktales and the genocidal nature of war in the modern world. It seems like the intent of these stories is to nurture a sense of innate moral superiority in the audience, often for explicitly political purposes, as she mentions with the Robin Hood story. The protagonists in these stories never go to war except against people who are true villains and have no morals at all, so it's as if war draws a line between good and evil so clearly that it justifies wiping your enemies off of the face of the earth completely. If the point of telling a story is to create a shared experience like a football game, where the audience roots for a certain side to win, then yes, it's better for the "good guys" to win. But why is that the point of stories? If we look at ancient folktales, it becomes harder and harder to root for the good guys, if there even are any. If there is a moral battle, it's between two individuals, not an army of good and an army of evil, like in Star Wars or Lord of the Rings. It's a pretty broad, sweeping claim to make, but I think she brought enough historical examples to make a strong case. We can't go back in time and ask the ancients themselves.