| Meaning | Good: quod certo scimus nobis esse utile - what we certainly know to be useful to us. Good hence is defined as being dependent on "us", opening the possibility that what is good for some of us is not so for others. What is good also is defined to depend on what we know, so what is good for me in my actual state of knowledge might have been not so if my knowledge had been greater, smaller or different. By contrast, the main definiens, utility, subsequently gets rigidly specified as what enhances your power, which is: understanding and nothing else [cf. utile]. |
| Mantras [what is] | boni et [exl. non-exh] mali (not exhaustive since most things are neither) |
| Related concepts | {4d01 bonus^malus} and {4d02 malus^bonus} are one-of-two-redundant definitions. They form a exclusive exhaustive complement-triple with zero-utility |
| Occurrence | [geomap] Preoccurs from {2de24} |
| 3p09s conatus voluntas appetitus essentia cupiditas | |
|
... endeavour, when referred solely to the mind, is called will, when
referred to the mind and body in conjunction it is called
appetite ... Desire is appetite with consciousness thereof ... in no
case do we strive for, wish for, long for, or desire anything, because
we deem it to be good, but on the contrary we deem a thing to be good,
because we strive for it, wish for it, long for it, or desire it |
... conatus cum ad mentem solam refertur, voluntas appellatur sed cum ad mentem et corpus simul refertur, vocatur appetitus ... cupiditas est appetitus cum ejusdem conscientia. ... nihil nos conari, velle, appetere neque cupere quia id bonum esse judicamus sed contra nos propterea aliquid bonum esse judicare quia id conamur, volumus |
| 3p39s bonum malum ... preoccurring local informal definition ... | |
| ... By good I here mean every kind of pleasure, and all that conduces thereto, especially that which satisfies our longings, whatsoever they may be. By evil, I mean every kind of pain, especially that which frustrates our longings ... | ... Per bonum hic intelligo omne genus laetitiae et quicquid porro ad eandem conducit et praecipue id quod desiderio qualecunque illud sit, satisfacit. Per malum autem omne tristitiae genus et praecipue id quod desiderium frustratur ... |
| 4praef perfectione imperfectione bono malo ... one and the same thing can be at the same time good, bad, and indifferent ... | |
|
... As for the terms good and bad, they indicate no positive quality in
things regarded in themselves, but are merely modes of thinking, or
notions which we form from the comparison of things one with another.
Thus one and the same thing can be at the same time good, bad, and
indifferent. For instance, music is good for him that is melancholy, bad
for him that mourns; for him that is deaf, it is neither good nor bad. Nevertheless, though this be so, the terms should still be retained. For, inasmuch as we desire to form an idea of man as a type of human nature which we may hold in view, it will be useful for us to retain the terms in question, in the sense I have indicated ... |
... Bonum et malum quod attinet, nihil etiam positivum in rebus in se scilicet consideratis indicant nec aliud sunt praeter cogitandi modos seu notiones quas formamus ex eo quod res ad invicem comparamus. Nam una eademque res potest eodem tempore bona et mala et etiam indifferens esse. Exempli gratia musica bona est melancholico, mala lugenti, surdo autem neque bona neque mala. Verum quamvis se res ita habeat, nobis tamen haec vocabula retinenda sunt. Nam quia ideam hominis tanquam naturae humanae exemplar quod intueamur formare cupimus, nobis ex usu erit haec eadem vocabula eo quo dixi sensu retinere ... |
| Equivalence claims involving bonus | ||
| {4d01} [notes] | 1. good 2. that which we certainly know to be useful to us. | 1. bonum 2. id quod certo scimus nobis esse utile. |
| {4d02} [notes] | 1. evil 2. that which we certainly know to be a hindrance to us in the attainment of any good. | 1. malum 2. id quod certo scimus impedire quominus boni alicujus simus compotes |
| {4p28} | 1. useful 2. good | 1. utile 2. bonum |
| {4p31c} | 1. more useful 2. better | 1. utilior 2. magis bona |
| {4p38} | 1. good 2. useful | 1. bonum 2. utile |