We Rise By Lifting Others

No one is born good or evil; it is one's environment and the people they encounter in life which makes them good or evil. A lot of time it is not the individual's fault of the way they are, they might have seen so many bad doings that, they are use to it and might think that it is right. One is not born with a vision of knowing what is wrong and what is right in life, but learns when something happens to

I believe that human beings are basically good. When they are first born and grow up as babies and toddlers, humans are innocent. However, with the effects of outside experiences and social expectations, human beings can be prone to evil. Humans want to be recognized within society and this can be seen in the movie, “The Talented Mr. Ripley”. Due to the social environment that Tom Ripley lives in, he feels the need to fit in and be wealthy like the people around him. This causes him to seek for ways, whether the action is moral or immoral, to attain a higher social status.

In the early morning hours of March 13, 1964, twenty-eight year old barmaid Catherine "Kitty" Genovese was murdered and raped on the street in Kew Gardens, New York. The incident did not initially receive much attention until Martin Gansberg's infamous article, "Thirty-Eight Who Saw Murder, Didn't Call the Police", was published in the New York Times two weeks later. In reality, only twelve people witnessed the event yet each did nothing to significantly help Genovese until it was too late. The Genovese murder has become the definitive example of the "bystander effect", the social phenomenon in which individuals are less likely to help someone in distress if there are other people present. The bystander effect occurs wherever there is

Humans have been around for about six million years. Humans have had their ups and their down. We have gained faith in humanity, yet we have lost faith in humanity. Which brings up the question, are humans inherently good or evil. The book Lord Of The Flies and documentary Promises clearly show how humans are inherently good. Humans are inherently good until they are changed because of the environment they are born in and how they are treated.

From looking at the world now, it is ridiculous to say that we are naturally good. However, if one person believes that stealing is evil, another might believe that stealing is good if it's for a good purpose. So it depends on the person’s views. When a newborn is brought into this world you tend to see purity and simplicity in his eyes. For instance if a child executed a man, we cannot judge nor blame the child since the child knows nothing in life yet. In fact for quite a long time, many philosophers, as well as most individuals, have contemplated on the question “ Is human nature good or bad?”

Many people have their own views on humanity. They can either be that humans are essentially good but can become corrupt or that people are just essentially evil. They have their own opinions, some people can tell their perspective on humans in other fashions. If people are essentially good, they how do they become corrupt? Or if are truly evil, then why do some people seem like they are kind people and they can never do such things? To take both of these into account, a person may saw that people are good but deep down have evil within them. People may ask how does the evil within a person come out, the answer to that is that it is thanks to their environment. The environment around a person can undoubtedly draw out the evil within them

“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.

Are people aware of their own good nature, are others aware of their good nature? Anne Frank’s statement, that people are truly good at heart, is true.The current generation and the past generation has had its faults, it’s troubles and events. For instance, the Holocaust and the recent Florida school shooting. Yet, there is always good in the world, no matter the tyrant. People will sacrifice their own for others. They have the ability to change their mind from the worst, to the best. Deep down, everyone cares for something.

Are there really any “good” people living on this planet? This question seems to loom in the one’s mind after reading Flannery O’Connor’s two stories, “A Good Man is Hard to Find” and “Good Country People”. Not only does O'Connor portray gruesome imagery throughout both stories, she also incorporates aspects of religion. What makes these stories captivating is the element of pure shock during the climax. Nevertheless, the short stories both help the readers visualize how judging others or jumping to conclusions about certain individuals can have a dramatic conclusion.

When faced with intense and quick decisions, many individuals fail to take immediate action. During the attack of Catherine Genovese, not one witness acted upon the easy task of phoning the police. Since reaching the police was easy and even a small child could perform the task, people wondered why such an easy task did not get performed. Gansberg reinforces the ease of calling the police by stating, “The police may be reached by

If you had different hardships in your life would you be a different person? The answer is most likely yes. A person’s character is based upon the experiences they have been through. “Adversity has the effect of eliciting talents which in prosperous circumstances would have lain dormant,” –Horace. In “And Still We Rise” by Miles Corwin, Corwin shares the lives of inner city kids who still strive to succeed and go to college although the circumstances they are dealt with have told them otherwise. Some of the kids that dealt with bad hands were Toya, Olivia, and Willie. The struggles that they went through are impetuous.

What does it mean to be a good person? How can one respect oneself without hurting others? Are we able to judge whether a decision is wrong or right? Do we really know what love is? ... Questions like these have always existed, but what happens when an author tries to comprehend the complexity of being ‘good people’? Is it possible to write about an issue like this? In David Foster Wallace’s short story “Good People” from 2007 we experience an attempt to do so.

Whether human beings are instinctually good or evil in an elementary natural state is a question that has been boggling the minds of even the greatest philosophers. There is a spectrum of theories that support both good and evil within the human race, each with valid points that explains the range of our interests, being either for ourselves or for others. However, my personal stance is the sensible theory of Altruism. Past experiences and observations allow me to take the stance, and support the argument that humans are caring and genuinely good individuals and have the will and desire to help those around them.

Murder is a form of violence that does more harm than just destruction of property but leads to a loss of life in the process, and that makes it more severe than other forms of violence that may just end at injuries to people or destruction of property (Staples 2014). The sociological approach to issues of murder in the city highlights how the society or the environment increases the cases of death or reduces them in a case where there are few cases of murder and how the revelation would relatively contribute in mitigating the cases of violence (Pratt and Godsey 2003). The trend in deaths across different cities including Philadelphia is a motivation that results from how the city operations are set and are functioning, the level of security

Humans cannot help but ask themselves, are the acts of goodness which are seen around them by others really true acts of good will or being good? Good will can be defined as a “kindly feeling of approval and support, benevolent interest or concern,” (Webster’s) and good can be defined as “morally excellent, virtuous, righteous, pious, excellence or merit, kindness, and a favorable character or tendency.” (Dictionary.com) Good can also be defined by the culture we live in and by what is also socially good and or correct. Good can be defined as doing what is right,