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Are People Inherently Good Or Evil

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When concerning moral dispositions, the ongoing debate remains: are people inherently good or evil? Through various readings, many heated discussions, and several informing documentaries and movies, one thing has remained clear—that anyone can be a terrorist, and anyone can be an altruist. There is no biological makeup that urges terrorists to act with violence nor is there a secret mantra altruists recite daily that motivates them to act with goodness. Life does not provide a clear and distinct outline of how we should live; rather, it allows us to define it ourselves. When I think of my future and the way I want to live the rest of my life, I consider myself no different than the people who totally abandoned their humanity or the people who completely embraced it. …show more content…

As Zimbardo states, “We can learn to become good or evil regardless of our genetic inheritance, personality, or family legacy” (Zimbardo 2007, 7). The class, Politics of Good and Evil has led me to greatly reflect upon the kind of person I aspire to be. When I am older and reminisce on the life I have lived, I want to I want to know that I impacted the world in a way that I can leave it better than I found it. When I take everything learned in class into consideration I strive to live a life where I can value all humanity, where I can remember my identity is not limited, where I can always control myself in uncontrollable situations; and then, to take what I have learned and apply it to my family, my friends, and

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