What is goodness? As I have argued, it is a contextualized tendency, in which you pursue your own happiness and that of others with equal vigor.
The problem in modern philosophy is that Plato said it was, in effect, a thing, more real than real. It emitted a shadow, but we could not see it directly.
Plato may have been right, but he was impractical. Practically, it doesn’t matter if Goodness “exists” or not. We have decisions to make. Do we make them more intelligently, or less? Do we take the fact of our existence and make the best of it, or do we decide to give up and take “angst” as somehow emblematic of something other than being fucked up in the head, normally as a result of ingesting stupid ideas emitted by evil, confused people?
I have defined Goodness as a “volitional character disposition in which you are capable of living happily on your own, and in which you take pleasure from the happiness of others.”
This has endless possible contexual implementations, doesn’t it? Imagine, as an example, being a German soldier drafted against your will, and assigned to an SS unit running a death camp. You feel genuine sympathy for the people being murdered, but if you show it, you risk murder yourself, and you know that your wife and children will need you there after the war. What do you do? Do you perform some foolishly romantic but pointless act, like releasing a roomful of prisoners, who enjoy freedom for about 1 minute, prior to getting gunned down in a courtyard somewhere? What can you do?
Surrepetitiously, can you not look some of them in the eye, letting them know you see them as human beings? When you deal with their bodies, can you not do so with some measure of respect? Can you not, above all, remember who you are, and not surrender to the horror, not accept it as acceptable? Can you not then go home and live life with increased energy, love your wife and family with greater gratitude, and pray for those who were killed?
What is the proper level for the ocean? As I understand the matter, it has been some 40′ higher than it is at present in the remote past, and some similar number lower in ice ages, when all the water is sucked up into vast ice flows. Which was the exact correct level?
As far as that goes, is the ocean level? To get something level, you have to freeze it, don’t you? And then it isn’t level: it just isn’t moving. Wave bob up, and they bob down.
Goodness is like this. It is always trying to do good where you can, when you can. Sometimes, the water is frozen, and there is little you can do. You soldier on. Sometimes, there is a lot you can do: but still you float like a small boat on the waves, going up and down, moving in and out, doing what you can.
A formulation I like is that all moral decisions should be local, imperfect, and necessary. Goodness is the same, but I would say it is local, imperfect, and organic. It is based on a connection with your circumstances, and with the people in those circumstances, that is non-compulsive, and sincere. It is relaxed, but not apathetic, and capable of great diligence.