Terminology Tuesday: The Good

The Good: The most general term of ethical approval. The good is that which has positive value—for humans, that which is constitutive of, or conducive to, human flourishing. "Good" has both a moral sense, in which it is the opposite of evil, and a nonmoral sense, in which it is the opposite of that which is bad in any sense. Many ethical theories are grounded in a theory of the good, an example being that of the hedonist who identifies the good with pleasure. Theists typically hold that the good is in some way linked to God, who is supremely good. For Platonists, the Good is the supreme Form, the One from whom all being and value is derived, and Christian Platonists have naturally identified the Good with God.1

1. C.Stephen Evans, Pocket Dictionary of Apologetics & Philosophy of Religion (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2002), p. 50.