What makes good people do bad things?

In the world there will always be people we label as ‘bad’. We are taught from a very young age to avoid certain behaviors, which could inevitably turn us into this type of corrupt and immoral person. Instead, we are taught to behave outstandingly, and follow an unspoken social code of morality. There is a universal theme that the good will always overcome the bad; “The good guys always win.” Even on television, in children’s cartoons, this idea is reinforced. It is ingrained in our brain’s that becoming an upstanding citizen is a righteous path for success. But as people get older they tend to develop their own code of morality and do what they think is good for the world. Take Joseph Stalin, for example; though twisted in his beliefs,

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.

There is one question that everyone asks but to which no one knows the answer: "Why do bad things happen to good people?" The misfortunes of good people raise problems not only for those who suffer, but also for everyone who wants to believe in a just and livable world and in a fair and compassionate God. Rabbi Kushner, author of "Why Do Bad Things Happen To Good People", attempts to bring light to this difficult question. In doing so he evaluates past attempts to explain suffering, offers his own approach to the justification of suffering in today's society, and makes suggestions for how one can deal with suffering and continue his or her journey into the future. This essay will examine these

In most of the countries, there will always be two types of people: people with power, which are people that have more hierarchy than others and that will tend to have some type of power so they can make others do what they want in order to please them; and people that will do anything in order to obey the orders of those with power. When someone has some or a lot of power, eventually, they will only care for their power to increase; it is not a matter of culture, religion, ethnicity or any other aspect that some individuals may have. A few examples of this could be whenever someone obeys another person because they are eternally grateful to them, or just because they have some type of respect towards that person, finally it could be just to

The world we live in is not black and white, it's one giant grey area. Humans are not completely good nor solely evil, we all have light and darkness inside us. Everyone in the book judged Elphaba by her green skin, calling her evil and 'wicked' just because she stood up for what she believed in and didn't care what people thought of her.

As we all have observed, throughout history each culture or society has unique norms that are acceptable to that group of people. Therefore, to establish and come to the acceptance of these basic norms, each society must develop its’ own strategies and techniques to encourage the fundamentals of behavior, which is clear in our modern society. Most do assume that everyone in a society will follow and respect such norms. However, some tend to deviate from the adequate norms and demonstrate deviant behavior. Nevertheless, we are inclined to ask ourselves, why do people decide to violate such important standards of living?

The more you are from the reward and authority, the more likely you are to do something bad “. Now the point is that even if we don't want to be evil, we will if we want to fit in with the crowd, Meaning that good people can be bad. People are not always who you think they

First and foremost, a moral individual will not be influenced by evil but rather strive for virtuous. One with

Being a spiritual person who has grown up in a Catholic home, God is very important to me and is the one I turn to and pray to in times of despair. However, in many situations it has been seen throughout the world that society blames God for difficult moments. Society has questioned God “if he really existed why would he allow such evil things to happen”, now the question why do bad things happen to good people is one that I also question myself.

Mankind can also become good or evil depending on the environment they are exposed to and their reaction to it. In relative this matter, in the article Huffington Post an individual explains the cause and effect between man and society. This major news article written by stated “The vast majority of people reside prominently in civilized society, and they dismiss their instinct for aggression and dominance. Being a part of the group ensures safety and prosperity, and the group strongly influences and defines individual behavior.” (Huffington Post).This quote has a direct meaning to the concept of how man reacts to society. As human beings we are raised in an environment where we are taught manners and to behave in a certain way. In our society we must be obedient and well-mannered. As a result, we all have these qualities built into us and we exercise this like a second nature. However, if you were to go to another country they may have a different way of doing things. For example, if you were to go to a community where they have no access to any way of ever behaving properly and decide to grow up there, you would soon adapt their way of living. Such as when you go down south you will soon with enough time, adapt their accent. This goes with the way of man and their environment: they absorb

Everyone is different, but human nature is essentially bad. Melissa Dittmann wrote the statement, “just the right dose of certain social situations can transform ordinarily good people into evildoers.” These three stories teach us that human behavior can be unexpected. People will do stuff that they never thought they would. In the novel, Lord of the Flies, innocent children with no intentions of hurting anyone, turn a calm island into a warzone. The Stanford Prison Experiment is another great example of good people doing bad things. Random college students were chosen to be placed in a fake prison as prisoners and guards; the results were shocking. The experiment was supposed to last for at least a few weeks, but had to be stopped when behavior from specifically the guards became out of control. In A Few Great Men, two lieutenants follow the orders of Colonel Jessup to perform a code red, even though they knew it was not a good idea, they listened because it was someone with more power telling them to do so. Overall, these three stories tell us that even people with good morals, can do bad things unintentionally.

When people are categorized as good or bad, the labels create a misunderstood connotation. Psychologist Philip Zimbardo answers this question of how “good people” become “bad people” in the constructs of society. His novel, The Lucifer Effect: Understanding How Good People Turn Evil, is novel that questions the reasoning of the American people on their definition of right and wrong in the world. People in general feed themselves and are taught that their actions, personality, ethnicity, race, gender, etc. all contribute to the worth of an individual. This leads to slippery slope conclusions to the society in order for people to separate themselves from being a bad person: “bad people do bad things, therefore, good people do good things. And

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

There have been many investigations conducted regarding if people are inherently good or evil, so there are lots of different theories and possibilities. However, it seems more evident, in my opinion, that humans are naturally good and their life experiences impact how they act later on. First, they could grow up with absent parents or guardians, resulting in them taking on a life of crime or abusing substances, which could cause them to make very negative children. Next, perhaps these children had to deal with an experience in their lives that scarred them emotionally, such as a murder or robbery, making them feel as if evil is the only thing that exists in the world. Finally, sometimes one bad action or choice can become many, so a person does not start off as evil, but may turn away from good.

There are always two sides to every coin. For example, without evil, there can be no good. Is being a good person all about the things one does or is it about the reason one does the things they do? There 's good and bad in everyone. Humanity isn 't perfect, and our lives are so complex. In the film titled Nightcrawler, Louis Bloom shows viewers first-hand what it is like to be a journalist in the fast pace city of Los Angeles. Throughout the film, Louis attempts to manipulate the other characters and uses their weakness against them to get whatever he desires. Even though a person may be considered as a bad person they still could possibly commit actions that a good person normally world and vice-versa. For many people, it may be easy for them to characterize Louis as a bad person, due to the choices and decisions he makes through the movie. After watching the film several times, I am still pondering over what exactly it means to be a bad or good person. Everyone makes mistakes; it is inevitable. But the thing that separates a good person from a bad person is that a good person learns from those mistakes and never repeats those same mistakes again. Making mistakes is part of what makes us human. They not only help one learn from our experiences, but they also help shape one into the individual they would like to become. A good person is comfortable with both their strengths and weaknesses, treat others with respect, and are aware that their inner intentions are truly what