Question on good and evil...

digderidoo

Growing up as a dub i always belived mankind was inheritantly good. That because of Adam and Eve being perfect, they then ate the fruit and so that sinful side was passed on through the generations.

Since leaving i have often wondered whether mankind is inheritantly good or evil.

When wicked acts occur, this makes me think that some have this evil deep down inside of them. Yet when someone helps others i then think that maybe some have good inside of them.

So is mankind inheritantly good or bad? Are some people born good and some people born evil? Or is it a case that all of us has the ability to behave evil and good?

Paul

snowbird

That's a question that has troubled me all my life.

I think most people are inherently good, but choose to go bad.

OTOH, I've known some children that are seemingly without a conscience, e.g., they seem to enjoy hurting others and go on to become violent offenders against humanity.

I truly believe the Bible's account that an extremely wicked person is out to mislead and deceive humanity. I also believe that some are under his control from conception. IMO, there's no other satisfactory explanation for the existence of evil.

Incidentally, I suspect all creation has been touched by this evil.

Sylvia

Dorktacular

Consider this... What do we hear on the news every day?

We hear mostly bad things. Why? Because these things are abnormally trajic, which means they don't happen all the time, which makes it news. If the world were more evil than good, good deeds would be on the news, because the good things would be abnormal, which would make it news. I think most people are inherently good and when push comes to shove they will do what they think is morally right. The variable in there is the wide range of morals out there. What you or I think is good might not enter into the thought processes of other people.

Yikes

This is actually a very complex question with a multitude of answers...

1st, the news reply...I don't buy that at all. Drama sells, whether that be good drama or bad drama...that is what we see on the news. And drama is regional, in the States we seem to love the negative, in other countries they are the opposite...

I believe that PEOPLE are inherently good, but SOCIETY is inherently bad. Leadership is inherenty bad because it involves power and control.

History has shown that mankind for the most part CAN'T get along... Humans like to fight each other. This fight does not always mean guns and bombs either, the spoken word is far more evil than any bomb.

Religion is evil, it is all about power and control, right vs wrong. The reality though is that there is no right vs wrong, only society and leaders create rules to fabricate right vs wrong. It's all about who is right and who is wrong...and that is our human nature..when we get together...

oompa

I believe people are born inclined to good...and yet some are inclined to evil...or choose to be..but this is not the norm imo.......oompa

yknot

I think our nuture has a great deal more to do with our choices then our "nature".

I will be the first to tell you that I can come up with some dastardly evil world domination plans,but I don't act on them because of upbringing.

I have a great potential for 'darkness' but feel more secure in the 'light'.

To assume inherited dispostion of good or evil would result in the concept of predestination.

jaguarbass

I think man is like a blank piece of papper.

Whatever that papper is bombarded with is what it becomes.

If nice, peaceful words and images are written on him he will be good.

If evil, malicious words and images are written on him he will be bad.

As a man thinks so he becomes.

If he belongs to a violent gang and listens to violent music and watches violence in the media, I'll bet he will be a menace to society.

If he is an alterboy in the church and belongs to the boyscouts and plays sports and spend times with his parents, I think society will respect and honor him.

Something like that.

I work in a jail which sort of youth do you think I spend my days with?

Anony-Mouse

Compassion is good for Humans as a race. More compassion means more Humans survive. So it's a survival trait. Lack of compassion means more Humans die, so everyone else dislikes the evil person.

Selfishness is also a survival trait. The more you have, the better your chances.

So humans have both, but are directed by how well they listen to their parents, also a survival trait.

I think Nurture has more influence on how a person turns out, but it's not the whole picture.

trevor

As a race humans share something with all other creatures on the planet - the desire to survive.

Good and evil are subjective labels. Surviving socially may involve being kind and considerate to others in a group. Defending that group may involve killing other humans.

The difference shows itself in more subtle ways in our complex social structures. For example is it good to be competitive at the expense of another? Or should we always put others first? Those who are prepared to die for others often have a belief that they will be rewarded in another life for their altruism.

In the end, I think that most of us are a mixture of empathy and kindness, tempered by the duty to see that our own needs are met and those of our loved ones, whatever it takes.

halcyon

I think people are inherently self-serving. They do what they feel is Right For Them at that particular moment. I've got a theory that nobody can go through with an action if they don't believe on SOME level at THAT moment that it is the RIGHT thing to do. If you ask me to kill someone, I cannot do it unless I believe on some level that it is Right. (this person deserves it; I am doing something good for them/society/their children/ if I end their pain through death.) If you ask me to cut off my own hand, I could find a reason within me that would make it Right at that moment. (This makes me noble; my hand is causing me suffering; I'm proving my obedience; whatever.)

Even helping others is self-serving, because it brings good feelings upon ourselves ABOUT ourselves.

Sometimes people don't find those good feelings within them, because of past experiences, current situational circumstances, or even the way their body chemically fires. In those situations, they do Bad Things when circumstances give them the choice.

Other times people find those good feelings within them and may even pursue them to a fault. These are usually the Saints among us, who seem so unselfish that they put their own needs aside. But they ARE getting a reward, inside themselves. We as society label their actions as Good.

ALL people can find a combination of both traits inside them, so I think it's a complex process of which one rises to the surface at any given circumstance. I must be honest or I can't live with myself, UNLESS the consequences make my life really bad, then it's easier to live with my bad conscience than to live with the bad circumstances. So I choose to lie.

I love my child dearly. BUT, famine has struck, and we're both going to die, so what should I do? I could eat my child and at least one of us lives. Or I could choose to die instead because I feel noble through my compassion. Or else I can't live with myself if I do such a thing. Whatever.

We all make the choices that we think we can live with, each moment of our existence. (I'm not saying that our feelings about our decisions might not change the moment after we've committed!)

I guess I don't really believe in Evil.

And in my experience, most people I've known have chosen to be Good when given the choice.

Question on good and evil...

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