One component you are missing is the ability to do the right thing, also known as power. I think strength comes under this.
For example, you might know that landing an airplane full of passengers is the right thing to do. You may choose to do it and you might have the courage to do it, but without the appropriate power (in this case knowledge how to land a plane) you can’t do it.
Another example—you see a lady being mugged at knife point. The right thing to do would be to help her, even if you are couragous, but without the necessary negotiation or self defence skills, you can’t. So your wisdom, choice and courage amount to nothing without the requisite power.
If you only maximize your wisdom and courage, without developing power, your ability to do good will be limited.
Wholeheartedly agree that having the capacity to cause good outcomes is important. I’m not sure it’s part of being a good person. Let’s say you have two people. Both have the same personal amount of Wisdom and Courage. Both choose to do good. One person is born poor and the other is born with 100 billion dollars in inheritance. The richer person is undoubtedly more powerful and can do more good but does that mean they’re a better person?
Maybe “ability” or some other word is better here than power. For me power implies being able to force other agents to do/not do things. Ability suggests being able to do something, even when that something doesn’t involve other agents.
I do think pursuing opportunities to increase your capacity to do good is an important part of being good as a person. Ability works too, definitely, as in my book power is not much more than ability to carry out an action, whatever that may be. A transition that is possible to you, but maybe not others.
I suppose I would also swap the binary idea of being or not being a good person, for a continuous measure of “goodness”. In fact, instead of saying that a person is good or bad to some degree, I think it makes sense to evaluate the morality of each act individually—how good or bad was that act of yours? As all people carry out good and bad acts each day.
And if we evaluate the moral value of acts, then having an ability to carry out these acts in the first place becomes even more important. We are all born under different circumstances, with different abilities. But it is also true for many of us (perhaps most) that we can develop ourselves, increase our capacity to help others.
One component you are missing is the ability to do the right thing, also known as power. I think strength comes under this.
For example, you might know that landing an airplane full of passengers is the right thing to do. You may choose to do it and you might have the courage to do it, but without the appropriate power (in this case knowledge how to land a plane) you can’t do it.
Another example—you see a lady being mugged at knife point. The right thing to do would be to help her, even if you are couragous, but without the necessary negotiation or self defence skills, you can’t. So your wisdom, choice and courage amount to nothing without the requisite power.
If you only maximize your wisdom and courage, without developing power, your ability to do good will be limited.
Wholeheartedly agree that having the capacity to cause good outcomes is important. I’m not sure it’s part of being a good person. Let’s say you have two people. Both have the same personal amount of Wisdom and Courage. Both choose to do good. One person is born poor and the other is born with 100 billion dollars in inheritance. The richer person is undoubtedly more powerful and can do more good but does that mean they’re a better person?
Maybe “ability” or some other word is better here than power. For me power implies being able to force other agents to do/not do things. Ability suggests being able to do something, even when that something doesn’t involve other agents.
I do think pursuing opportunities to increase your capacity to do good is an important part of being good as a person. Ability works too, definitely, as in my book power is not much more than ability to carry out an action, whatever that may be. A transition that is possible to you, but maybe not others.
I suppose I would also swap the binary idea of being or not being a good person, for a continuous measure of “goodness”. In fact, instead of saying that a person is good or bad to some degree, I think it makes sense to evaluate the morality of each act individually—how good or bad was that act of yours? As all people carry out good and bad acts each day.
And if we evaluate the moral value of acts, then having an ability to carry out these acts in the first place becomes even more important. We are all born under different circumstances, with different abilities. But it is also true for many of us (perhaps most) that we can develop ourselves, increase our capacity to help others.