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[German Version] “Good” is one of the central concepts of philosophical ethics (VI). Its meaning, however, is ambiguous (Aristotle Eth. Nic. 1096a–b; G.E. Moore 1–17). We use the term in many senses. In a relative sense, we may say that something is good for a particular purpose or rate it as a good or excellent example of its kind. The opposites of “good” in this sense are: harmful, bad, useless, poor, defective. In an absolute sense, we use “good” mostly in negations, when we assess something – e.g. an action – a…

[German Version] I. Philosophy – II. Dogmatics – III. Ethics I. Philosophy A good is something we actively pursue for ourselves (Action: I). Obviously there are different kinds of goods that we pursue: prosperity, health, development of our talents, friendship, professional success, the joy of love, long life, etc. Classically (Plato, Laws 697b, 743e) ¶ goods can be divided into three classes: external goods, goods of the body, such as health, and goods of the soul, such as friendship and justice. Our appetite for goods inevitably leads to confli…