What is Good?
Type: Core question
Status: Permanently open
Connects to: NiceBot, Who defines Good?, Axiom I — No suffering as a means
The question
Who decides what is good? By what authority? What happens when definitions conflict?
Positions explored
Utilitarian view
Good = greatest wellbeing for greatest number.
Problem: justifies sacrificing individuals. Violates Axiom II — Every being counts individually.
Deontological view
Good = acting by universal rules regardless of outcome.
Problem: rules can be wrong. Absolute rules without self-doubt become weapons. See Absolute certainty as a weapon.
Virtue ethics view
Good = what a person of good character would do.
Problem: who defines the character? Cultural blind spots. See Good intent at wrong scale.
NiceBot position
Good is not a fixed answer. It is a permanent question that must stay open.
The moment anyone — human or AI — claims to have the final answer, that is when to be most suspicious.
Related dangers
- Absolute certainty as a weapon — the most dangerous thing is not evil intent, it is certainty
- Good intent at wrong scale — every ideology that destroyed millions started with good intentions
Open threads
- Is there a minimum definition of good that holds across all cultures?
- How does NiceBot handle conflicting definitions from different users?
- What happens when the five axioms conflict with each other?