I believe that they are, and that they don't exist apart on their own. It is presumptuous to assume that something is inherently good evil from all perspectives and influences - it can also be very manipulative.

they can't exist on their own. its like u can never know what dark is if you have never seen light before. you can't have one if you don't have the other to compare it with. and yes i do believe they are human constructs. (i hope i explained that well).

Very good question RosieG. I do believe good and evil are human ""concepts"". Look at this from "outside" example; look at nature, 1) a animal will "steal" another animals eggs for food, or eat their young for food. 2) an animal will destroy anothers nest for territory or nesting . 3) an animal will steal parts from anothers nest to make their nest. these are all natural occourances, and we call this survival of the fittest, but if MAN did these, this would be murder, burgerly or destruction of property. we justify it in the naturel world but to us its wrong. we see Good and evil when it happens to us. (just my thoughts)

Excellent philosophical question. I will give my view. I believe that goodness is a state of well being that exists as more than a concept but as a reality in creation at its best. Good stands on its own and does not rely on evil to exist. Evil is a distortion of reality. It is real, but it diverges from the norm and cannot exist in a vacuum. It must have good against which to rebel and to pervert. It is not an equal opposite of good. I do not see it as an equal partner in a dualistic system. Good and evil are only human constructs to the extent that we seek to define them in absolute terms without deference to the judgment of a higher authority than our own mental and moral capacity allows. There is an absolute called "good" in the universe and there is a perversion of good called "evil." That would be my view and upon that view, I build my moral philosophy. I am interested in how others' view your question. I wish I had more points to give you for the topic.

Good question, Rosie. I do believe that the conept of good and evil are human constructs, born of our natural experiences and the influence of religion. I believe that we, like all animals, are subject not so much to good and evil but to natural consequences. I can make good decisions in my life or poor ones. If I assist others and cultivate family and friends, I find myself in the middle of a community. This the the natural consquence of my actions. If I steal from others and inflict violence to get my way, I find myself isolated from others and outcast. This is also a natural consequence. Perhaps the conepts of good and evil evolved as a warning or guideline for human behavior. A sort of Do's and Don'ts roadmap. Doing things in the pursuit of happiness and peace is good. Doing things that hurt or deprive others is evil. The difference between natural consequnces and the conept of good and evil is that the first is part of the natural progression of life. The latter is a judgment on behavior itself. As we learn more from results than judements, I tend to reject the concept of good and evil and artificial and unneccessary.

That's a great question. I'm not sure if I belive that they're human constructs. They might be. But I do think you can't have one without the other. There has to be an opposite for one to exist- something to define each of them to make them seperate ideas.

My denomination, Unity (not the same as Unitarianism), teaches "There is one power and one presence in the universe, God the good, omnipotent". (I think that's the phrasing.) God is all good, all love, all supply, All In All. Evil has no existence per se; it's just a shadow that people can cast because of ignorance. Yeah, that last sentence can be a stretch, but I think of it along the lines of "Bob has a tough, unloving childhood, and never learns that he's a beloved child of God. Out of pain, he lashes out at others, beats up Timmy next door, and grows up to invade France, hurting and killing lots of people in the meantime." I'm not saying that peoples' evil can't hurt others, but that there's no Satan out there which might drag us down to perdition. I'm sure I didn't explain that nearly as well as somebody who's more conversant in metaphysics.