The key difference between kindness and goodness is that kindness mainly involves being generous and considerate, and helping others whereas goodness involves righteousness in action or doing what is right.
Kindness and goodness are two virtues you should cultivate in your life. Although both are virtues, there is a distinct difference between kindness and goodness. Kindness is the quality of being generous, considerate and friendly while goodness is the quality of being virtuous or morally good.
CONTENTS
1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Kindness
3. What is Goodness
4. Similarities Between Kindness and Goodness
5. Side by Side Comparison – Kindness vs Goodness in Tabular Form
6. Summary
What is Kindness?
In general, kindness is the quality of being generous, considerate and friendly. Affection, gentleness, and care are some qualities associated with kindness. It is also considered as a virtue. There are various ways to practice kindness. Some examples of acts of kindness are opening a door, a kind word or a smile, helping someone to carry a heavy load and giving food to someone hungry.
Aristotle, in Book II of Rhetoric, “helpfulness towards someone in need, not in return for anything, nor for the advantage of the helper himself, but for that of the person helped.” As this definition implies, a kind person does not help another expecting something in return or for some personal gain.
However, some people see kindness as a sign of weakness; they consider a kind person as someone naïve and gullible, and someone who can be taken advantage of. But, this is not so. Being kind takes courage strength.
What is Goodness?
Goodness refers to the quality of being virtuous or morally good. Also, this is the exact opposite of evil. We often associate qualities such as integrity, honesty, and uprightness with goodness. Moreover, we can also include other positive qualities such as kindness and generosity in goodness.
In brief, goodness is righteousness in action as it involves doing what is right and encouraging others to do good. As a religious concept, goodness generally deals charity, continuity, happiness, love and justice.
What are the Similarities Between Kindness and Goodness?
- Both kindness and goodness are virtues one should cultivate in his or her character.
- Kindness may have an association with goodness.
What is the Difference Between Kindness and Goodness?
Kindness is the quality of being generous, considerate and friendly whereas goodness is the quality of being virtuous or morally good. Therefore, this is the key difference between kindness and goodness. Kindness mainly involves being generous and considerate and helping others whereas goodness involves righteousness in action or doing what is right. So, one more difference between kindness and goodness is the qualities we associate with these two qualities. We often associate generosity, gentleness, and care with kindness, and qualities like integrity, honesty, and uprightness with goodness. Moreover, unkindness and cruelty are the opposite of kindness while evil is the opposite of goodness.
Below illustration summarizes the difference between kindness and goodness.
Summary – Kindness vs Goodness
Kindness and goodness are virtues and values in many religions and cultures. Kindness is the quality of being generous, considerate and friendly while goodness is the quality of being virtuous or morally good. The key difference between kindness and goodness is that kindness mainly involves being generous and considerate, and helping others whereas goodness involves righteousness in action or doing what is right.
Reference:
1. Honeycutt, Lee. “Aristotle’s Rhetoric – Book II Chapter 7.” Web.archive.org. Available here
Image Courtesy:
1.”790616″ (CC0) via pxhere
2.”1122969″ (CC0) via Max Pixel