I do not think a world without “bad” is desirable or possible.   A world without any bad aspect would hypothetically be a world where everyone were perfectly content at any given moment and no one desired anything they couldn’t have.  If this situation were possible, life would be dreary and terrible.

Ignore the already present contradiction that a life without bad aspects would be “bad” in some sense.  Instead, think about what really makes life rewarding.  To me, accomplishing a goal is what makes life rewarding, be it making money, maintaining a relationship, learning, or what have you.  To accomplish these goals, one must deal with many “bads,” such as risking money, getting in fights with a significant other, spending long hours at a library in confusion, etcetera.

Another way to look at it is that the “bads” in life are what make the “goods” worth having.  Peace wouldn’t be considered so valuable if we didn’t know the horrors of war.  Medical inventions wouldn’t be worthwhile if no one ever got sick.  These things are “goods” today, but in a world without bads nobody would care about them.

Because of the interesting comments on my last article (Why Does the Environment Matter?), I have decided to elaborate on my thoughts on whether true altruistic acts exist.  The first step in this investigation is to define altruism.

According to Princeton University’s Wordnet, the definition of altruism is:

The quality of unselfish concern for the welfare of others.

If this definition accurately portrays altruism, it follows that when one commits an altruistic act, he only thinks about how the act will benefits others, and not himself.  No self-interest by the altruist is involved.

But what exactly is a benefit that can accrue to one’s self or others?  The concept of utility is important in this case.  Utility is a measure of satisfaction/fulfillment/enjoyment/happiness/etcetera that one gains from a good, action, or consequence.  In a simple example: one gains utility when he finds $10 on the ground.  Another example: one gains utility when the weather forecast for tomorrow is pleasant.  So if one were to commit an altruistic act, according to the definition above, the act must be made without any consideration of one’s own utility.  I believe any act that is made without considering one’s own utility is impossible.