Does good and bad only exist because humans perceive things as such?

"Good" and "bad" don't really exist. They are words invented by humans to describing things they like and don't like, usually based on the influence those things have on those humans themselves.

Words like evil are just used when a person doesn't want to consider the incident was the product of cause and effect.

It all depends on where you are standing.

Without a point of reference, how could you possibly determine what is good or bad?

As part of our ancestor's evolution as a social species, concepts of good and bad arose to help solve the problems from living in large groups. Laws were developed because they help prevent conflict as well as helping to solve them. So instilling values in people helps them to behave in ways which make it easier for us to coexist. Hence the ideas of good and bad have been integral to the development of human civilisation, without them we wouldn't have the evolutionary foundations of society we do. That means in terms of the human condition, good and bad are real concepts but the minutiae are plastic and may change over time (such as in the slavery example given above).

I think good and bad exist, but It really depends on the way you look at it. This is an interesting point of view, and when you look at animals you see that they do things that humans consider to be 'bad'. Then again though, humans kill for food. We just don't kill each other (unless we're murderers) animals kill each other in battles ECT all the time though, but we only do this in war.

I think that humans are born with a moral compass that teaches them good and bad, but sometimes individuals are born without this, and do not see good and bad. I believe that good and bad are taught to us by society and also through the media. In an alternative world, if all we had was bad, it would be all we would know, so surely that would be normal?

THis is a really good question to make you think :)

Yes.

1) In many Asian countries, eating dog is considered a good thing.

In the west, it is considered bad.

2) In the past, slavery was considered a good thing (well, not by the slaves).

Today, it is not (well, in most places).

So, "good" and "bad" are subjective things which change with time and place.

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To all you people here claiming "Murder has always been considered a universal bad"...There have been MANY cultures that practiced human sacrifice, thus proving my point number 2.

And to those that claim "Jehovah God sets the standard for what is good and what is bad. In the scriptures you can find his standards"... what do we then do with all the scriptures on slavery?

in some cases, good and bad are subjective, but in other cases they are a universal standard.

for instance, in every culture in every nation it is considered bad to murder someone. (not just kill, but murder)

while in some cultures at various times of history for instance something like slavery has not been a bad thing...like in ancient times when war left women and children with no provider, the conquering people might take them as slaves which would have been good because it would allow them to be cared for and to continue to live whereas without that, they might have perished for lack of having any man to help or provide for them. but later, especially in the american culture, slavery became an evil or bad thing.

but essentially, the issue of good and bad really began in the garden of eden when God told adam and eve not to eat the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. they disobeyed and ate the fruit and ever since human beings have had knowledge of what is good and knowledge of what is bad. that knowledge has permeated nearly every facet of life and is seen everywhere today.

it is interesting to note how many things we humans do which have both good and evil in them. for instance, medicine. every medicine known to man which has been created to do good things, also has within it the power to do bad or evil things to us as well....there are side effect warnings and not taking the proper dosage can have catestrophic effects. or cars....they are great and have done a great deal of good in our lives, but they can also do bad things to us between breaking down or having accidents. so on and so forth with nearly every aspect of our modern human lives.

To a certain extent, yes and unlike animals we are self conscious and have the abilty to empathise and know the difference between good and evil.

No, some things are just good and some things are just bad.

Bad across all cultures: murder, stealing, sexual misconduct, causing pain and suffering to others

Good across all cultures: altruism, love, aiding others in their distress

It's not set up that way by chance either.

The events and effects still exist, but the judgment of them is only a perception.

No. Jehovah God sets the standard for what is good and what is bad. In the scriptures you can find his standards. If you would like to learn Jehovah's standards from the BIble you can look at this web site-- www.watchtower.org.

http://www.watchtower.org/e/bh/article_01.htm