Born Good or Evil

I have noticed two very distinct schools of thought about being born good or evil. What I find amazing is the apparent party lines and political leanings that coincide with these prevalent ideas.

It appears that those of a progressive leaning tend to fall into the theory that man is basically good and will do what is right.

It appears that those on the conservative side believe that man is inherently bad and born into sin. That if left to ones own devices will gravitate to a more selfish if not altogether bad, way of life.

I was wondering what are the prevalent views here on ATS, as to whether people are intrinsically good or evil, and how they correlate to your political views?

respectfully

reluctantpawn

reply to post by reluctantpawn


Good or Evil is kinda arbitrary. I think everyone was born self-serving, and for some, in order to serve themselves, they feel compelled to help others, while there are certain people, who truly only feel good, when they are destroying things or tearing down other people.

We live in a world of chaos, and western-modern civilization is doing a horrible job at successfully brainwashing everyone to adhere to the unnatural balance it brings.

you can never control chaos, and soon, we shall see these destructive ones drown on their own blind faith and self deteriorating fervor for all that shines in the name of Love.


[edit on 31-8-2010 by leira7]

I have a dog. It's of a breed that is known for it's extreme aggressive behavior. Do you think it's in it's nature to be good or evil?
I've done everything in my power to raise this dog to behave and thus far she has not shown any inkling of her supposed nature. So I would say that evil is a "learned" nature.

Depends, really on nature and nurture. How you were brought up, parents decisions on your life, what type of friends you have etc. Some people 'play' the villian for our own benefit to show who we are NOT. Good and Bad doesn't really exist, just consequences.

Regards, Naeem

I view humans as rationally motivated to improve their wealth, well-being, and power. Is that good or bad? I don't know.

reply to post by 547000


Ooh! Ooh! Ooh! I can answer that one - definitely BAD!
The wealth and power aspects really have a profound negative impact on well-being both on a personal and cosmic scale.

gj

So it's intrinsically good to be an extremely poor person with no power to improve any conditions of his or his family's life?

I find it interesting that no one has brought up "original sin" and that mankind is born into sin and thus is doomed to fall into it. It appears that those that post that man is intrinsically good are secular in nature. I would also venture that they may be more progressive in their their political leanings.

respectfully

reluctantpawn

.. BORN neutral..
......that is why judge not less ye be judge thy self..
...peace .. see you through out time

I believe we are born both good and evil.

There is the pleasureful area of our mind that tells us laugh at other people's expense, take revenge, kick that jerks arse. etc..

Then there is the loving and gentle area of our mind, that tells us to make love, give hugs, and show empathy towards one another.

Genetics and social factors determine which 1 is more dominant.

good and evil are just words to represent ideas like everything else. Not to mention both can be hard to define as we would think of most terrorists as being evil yet I doubt they think that they are. Personally I think everyone is born with a need for food, water, warmth, shelter, creative expression and companionship to a certain degree. As for good and evil, I would say these are learned concepts that help mold us to fit our society. If a baby is born in Isreal and shown cartoons everyday of "evil" Muslims that must be expelled from the holy land than their actions to do so when they grow older aren't realized as being evil deeds, while Palestinians and outsiders might think otherwise. The fact that one can think of themself as a freedom fighter yet others will see them as a terrorist should demonstrate that good and evil are learned concepts within a society. That's not to say their aren't psychos within a given society that most will blatantly label as evil... damaged goods so to speak.

If we are then intrinsically good how then did evil appear. For those that claim it is only an idea how can you explain your belief that one is only evil due to social conditions. Murder is universally accepted as wrong and thus could be construed as universally considered evil.

respectfully

reluctantpawn

Originally posted by reluctantpawn
For those that claim it is only an idea how can you explain your belief that one is only evil due to social conditions. Murder is universally accepted as wrong and thus could be construed as universally considered evil.

respectfully

reluctantpawn

SO lets say we can all agree rape, murder, etc are all evil. Lets say someone commits a rape or murder... were they born with that in them or were their actions a result of their development (abused child or whatever). I figure there are two groups, people who commit evil acts and are aware of it and regretful or feel the good outweighed their action, and those who commit evil and are unaware of the hideousness of their actions due to a generally screwed up mind.

Sure murder is universally accepted as wrong and thus could be construed as universally considered evil, but if I "merc"ed Hitler back in the day people might not consider my actions evil.

Honestly I don't know where I'm going with this, nature vs nurture is what we're are getting at I suppose.


[edit on 1-9-2010 by Vicious Jones]

I see you are surprised no one has brought up a theologic point of view... me too.

Aside from theology, this question has puzzled me as well... in very personal dealings with a few people in my life, knowing how they were brought up, in what environment, and what they have been through, seeing what the "fruits" of such experiences VS. the others that went through the same exact things, if not worse...

Nature versus nurture? A combination?

And if one believes in God and Satan, then Satan's influence being stronger on some than others?


I am interested in what others will post on their thoughts regarding your OP.

reply to post by reluctantpawn


As many has pointed out (implicitly at least) good/evil are merely cultural things. We might think that cannibalism is evil, but not everyone does. Not everyone does think that murder is evil.

We tend to label evil everything which doesn't fit in with our cultural values. But can one label animal evil when it kills another living being? We human beings are social creatures and our values are affected by social agreement.

Key word: Cultural Relativism.

-v

Most of the things I can think of as being described as universally evil i.e. murder, rape etc usually stem from some form of behavioral abnormality in the person i.e. Psychopathic tendencies, Socioopathic tendencies, Lack of impulse control.

So the question becomes are people born with anti social behavior patterns / mental disorders or are they learned, the answer is of course both. You can be born with certain mental disorders and you can also develop them later on in life through your experiences.