Human Nature - Are Humans Naturally Good or Evil?

There are many theories why people could do evil things. Is it because they were abused or had a rough childhood? What if the society isn’t to blame at all for their behavior? (Olivia Goldhill “Are Some Humans born evil?”) People say people are born evil or people who are born good turn evil. This topic has been studied for many years and many people have different opinions about it. A person may say they don’t believe that people are born evil. Another person may think that people are born evil or good people turn evil. An example is babies aren’t born evil. Their minds are wonderful. Their minds are innocent and they don’t know much. A person can’t possibly be born evil. It really depends sometimes how a person is raised or what that person experiences in life.

In order to understand if someone is good or evil, one must first understand what exactly are good and evil?

A new born baby is not born with sinful thoughts. Babies are axiomation of purity and innocence . Experiences such as a bad childhood, neglect by parents, abuse, power changes humans into being evil. How someone is nurtured also determines if they will become good or evil. Ego, lust, jealousy, betrayal, failure, and greed are some causes of evil.One is not born evil.

Are humans inherently good or evil? The simple question has been asked many times, even though the answer isn't so simple. In William Golding's novel, Lord of the Flies, he further explores the concept. His novel is viewed through young boys trapped on a deserted island, striving to survive. In The Most Dangerous Game, Richard Connell investigates influences and integrity. In non-fiction texts, like "Why Boys Become Vicious" also by William Golding, the author defends his position and gives specific examples to support his stance. In other non-fiction works, authors have given their own views of human's natural behavior. Although some authors believe humans are good and others believe they are inherently evil, based on the evidence humans are born balance with both good and evil. Different situations however, shape their behavior and cause them to be either more good or evil.

Since the beginning of time there has been confusion about every aspect of life and with confusion comes a number of questions we cannot completely answer or forget. How did we transform from one creature to another? Why are people so violent? Are we inherently good or evil? These are questions that have been asked for centuries, and have taken ever longer to possibly answer. It might be numerous decades from now before they finally answer these questions but, nevertheless many people are trying by using evidence, theories, faith, and science to answer these questions as accurately as possible. Mainly the question about whether we are innately innocent or not. Most people, say humans are inherently evil, that there is evil in all of us. That could be the reason why kids enjoy watching ants succumb when they burn them with reflected rays of sunlight. However, many believe that we are born good with a clean slate and that it is society of whom changes that. I believe that we are born sinful/evil and that society influence us to be good. The facts have proven humans to be innately evil through genetics, control, and mistreatment.

A straightforward question. Are humans naturally good or evil? A simple question that has many of different answers and a question that may require deep thinking. For me, both sides I was drawn to. My household is christian, so I thought of the religious answer, but I also thought that people are born good and their environment and decisions can cause them to be evil. This is what I came up with.

For centuries many philosophers, as well as most individuals, have pondered on the question what is good and what is evil. More-so philosophers of all ages have also stumbled upon a more in depth question which is if the intuitive knowledge of man's nature is good, or if it is evil. Many have claimed to have an answer to these puzzling questions yet most of their answers were found to be incomplete and inadequate at a later date. Religion also tried to provide a solution but to my understanding only caused more of an entanglement if anything.

Many philosophers believe that a correct government can make a strong society. However, these philosophers do not agree on what form of government is the most “correct”. English philosopher John Locke believed that Man is inherently moral and that the purpose for government is to grant the fundamental rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness to its people. Another philosopher, Thomas Hobbes, however, held the belief that mankind is naturally evil and that society needs an absolute central authority to contain this evilness and grant its people with the common protection. Hobbes believes that in a state of nature, when there are no rules and everyone is granted equal power, the inherent evil impulses of Man are exposed. One

Rousseau thought that man was born weak and ignorant, but virtuous. It is only when man became sociable that they became wicked. (Cress, 80) Since civil society makes men corrupt, Rousseau advocated “general will”, more precisely the combined wills of each person, to decide public affairs. General will would become the sovereign and thus it would be impossible for its interests to conflict with the priorities of the citizens, since this would be doing harm to itself. Virtue came from the freedom of men to make decisions for the good of the

The novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding questions individuals whether humans are naturally good or evil. Throughout the novel, there are certain events and people that show humans are good. Not only is it shown in books but in real life too. Martin Luther King Jr. is a great example of this because what he did changed millions of lives and not in a bad way. As of the book, there are two characters that support the idea of humans being good. One of them is Simon and the other is Samneric. These two characters in Lord of the Flies help shape the answer of this question because the island never changed them. Humans have the choice of whether they want to turn evil or remain good. As seen by Simon and Samneric in Lord of the Flies by William

In general, society is not an evil device to have a part in, rather, it is completely normal. If an individual lives in a community, neighborhood, city, town, village, etc., they belong in a society. Societies provide “chaos management”; they keep people supposedly in line and provide rules. Rules are not wicked, but sometimes certain rules may go against the morals of a person, making the rules a negative aspect of society. This transforms the relationship of an individual existing in

In today’s society, it’s incredibly easy to find bad news. Reports of the wrongdoings of humanity are constantly circling through the media. “Three women were kidnapped and held captive for ten years, a teenager shot up an elementary school, and a teenage girl was shot for wanting to go to school.” Many believe that mankind is born with a special form of evil and we do what we please with it. Arthur Miller’s The Crucible says otherwise.

Rousseau too acknowledges that deviation from the laws of nature can be detrimental to man. He points out that though freewill places man at an advantage over other species, and perhaps even other men, but he does not necessarily see it as being all good:

In contrast, Rousseau had a generally positive view on human nature though a rather negative view on modern society. He proposed that humans had once been solitary beings and had learned to be political. He believed that human nature was not fixed and was subject to changed. Likewise, he believed that man was good when in a state of nature, but was corrupted by society as shown in his quotation, "Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains.” Also differentiating himself from other humanists, Rousseau taught that the sciences and the arts were not beneficial to man. Rousseau believed the general will must always be right and to obey the general will is to be free.

The goodness of mankind has been in question for a very long time, especially whether or not man is inherently good. Although there are many opinions on this matter, evidence points toward one; that humans are inherently evil, but are also able to learn to be good. Man may start out evil, but overtime he can work against this and strive to be good. Man enters the world at birth without knowledge of what is right and what is wrong; he is inherently evil.