Is Man Inherently Good Or Bad

It is a very arguable subject on whether or not people are born with good intentions, and therefore taught by others the ‘evil’ side of their personality. Whether it is the absence of ethical conduct in human nature, or just the way one perceives a situation, evil seems to be prominent in our everyday lives. Humans seem to have a moral code that follows them with every decision they make, yet despite the laws of morality and society, people of this world still seem to behave inhumanely because of the act of self-preservation, human interest, and who exactly the authority figure is at the time.

“Evil is the exercise of power. And that's the key: it's about power. To intentionally harm people psychologically, to hurt people physically, to destroy people mortally, or ideas, and to commit crimes against humanity.” When removed from the societal structures that dictate appropriate behavior people will revert to uncivil and often malicious behavior, as we see in Golding’s Lord of the Flies when a group of adolescent boys quickly transition from a structured, governed, society among themselves into violence and cruelty. The horrific acts performed by the boys point to the conclusion that humans as a whole are innately evil, and, if removed from societal expectations, people will give in to their most animalistic impulses.

Mencius addresses that men can become evil because of their actions. He uses the analogy of the forest. First it is beautiful but because of actions it can become barren. In other words, a man is born good and innocent. Still this man can do actions that lead to him becoming evil. This man still has the chance to go back to his good nature, but if he continues to be evil there is a point where he will be unable to turn back to his good ways. After a while of a person being evil people will stop believing that this person was ever good. Take Hitler for example, no one thinks of the innocent baby he was when he was born. Okay that is a pretty bad example but you get what I am saying, hopefully.

“Human nature is evil and goodness is caused by intentional activity” - Xunzi. Humans by nature have natural tendencies to evil however not everyone acts on those emotions.

In this clip, researchers are using babies to discover whether morality comes from birth or life experiences growing up. In the first study they tested several babies by using three puppets: one helping the puppet that is struggling and one not helping by being mean. They were then given the chance to select a puppet, more than three fourths of the babies took the nice puppet. This is evidence that babies know right from wrong even at a young age. In WDIAM chapter 7 “Right and Wrong” Nagel brings up the question, “Are right and wrong the same for everyone?” This clip seems to answer the question, yes because in the beginning of life everyone has a general sense of right and wrong. Everyone has a natural instinct of morality, but as people

Human nature I believe is evil. This might sound a bit harsh in some ways, but subsequently, Humans are definitely prone to do bad things. This feeling was also experienced by some philosophers that we have studied this year,

Ever wondered what makes a person become evil is he born or destined to be evil, or can the people or the community around them just influence them to be evil? People and their surroundings influence evil on them. In inadequate parts of town people are influenced into evil societies such as gangs despite laws and other countermeasures. Some also act good or heroic by free will. When People decide to act based on those who influence them, however, they may choose to make decisions through free will.

This documentary “Are you Good or Evil?” showed a wide range of studies that researchers conducted studies that would discover and analysis new developments in the science of the mind and brain. It looks at how the mind works and the perspectives of a psychopath. One of the studies that caught my attention was the study they conducted on babies at Yale University. The purpose for this experiment was to see if babies are born good or bad. Karen Wynn and Paul Bloom oversaw this study.

Genetics are the main factor when it comes to humans being inherently “evil”. They play a big part in our life, see as how our genes determine everything about us before we are even born. Before humans are they are selfish and have evil tendencies, they want everything to themselves and will do anything to achieve it. Genes have been proven to be a

Whether someone decides to become good or evil, they choose based on what they've learned from their experiences. A person might choose to be good because they've been brought up to think that it's the way people should be, or it's just right to be good. A person that is evil might choose to be evil because they've learned it's the easiest way to live. It's easy for evil people to take advantage of good people, and they might rarely face the consequences of it if any at all. Good people most likely choose to be good because something's influenced them to be good, and the same goes for evil people. Whichever someone chooses, there is usually something in their life that affects their choice through what they've learned and

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.

To believe that people are inherently good or evil is dangerously over-simplistic. This belief shapes what society thinks of bad people – bad people commit crimes and should therefore be sent to jail so that they can’t harm or influence others with their ‘bad’ behaviour. This topic has been debated for centuries and has caused many conflicts and wars throughout history and has definitely been a popular topic of discussion in the present. This concept makes groups believe that they are fighting against an evil enemy but that is just their view. These groups believe that by defeating this enemy, the world will live in a world where peace and goodness reigns.

The nature of man is the discussion on whether man is inherently good or inherently evil. Along with being just or unjust this discussion incorporates the idea of our freedom and how we obtain true happiness. Greek philosopher, Plato wrote The Republic which speaks on human nature. One important question from The Republic is, “Which kind of good leads to happiness?” (Plato,380BC).

The mystery as to whether human beings are born with a sense of morality or if it is acquired through what the society teaches us has remained unanswered for a long time. Do human beings start as bad people and wait for the society to shape them into good people? In a video aired by CBS News Online on November 2012, a study was conducted by a neuropsychologist Caren Wayne, a director at Infant Cognition Centre baby lab, on small babies to find out whether they can differentiate between wrong and right. Babies ranging from three to five months when presented with puppies with good behaviors and others with bad behaviors three quarters of the babies chose the good puppies. Remarkably, the findings of this research may be used to further the present knowledge on morality. In today’s world people like helpful individuals and want people who do bad to be punished just like the babies in the study. I don’t agree with the fact that every behavior that human beings have has been acquired through conditioning. Some behaviors are inborn. This research could even be more helpful if very old people are included in the study to see whether human beings still have the inbuilt characters even after they have grown old.

Every now and then something tragic in the world will happen as a result of a single person’s actions and morals, or lack thereof. They are instantly blamed, but how many of them are truly at complete fault? Perhaps for some of them, there is something else responsible, something that could’ve been changed, yet most people refuse to believe it, confined to the mindset that all evil people are born evil. Two examples of such people are the titular character Macbeth in William Shakespeare’s play Macbeth and Adam Lanza, the Sandy Hook Shooter. Both Macbeth and Lanza lose their morals through the first evil they commit; however, Adam’s malevolence is inherent throughout his life while Macbeth’s is brought upon by others.