Man is inherently good/evil

cleanbluesky · 31 Jul 2007 at 10:56

DISCUSS

Sometimes it seems that people have a tendency to either help each other or try and destroy each other.

So, if you had to choose - would you say that the human race is inherently good or inherently evil (constructive vs destructive)?

KaHn · 31 Jul 2007 at 10:57

I come across as good but I am pretty evil.

So I would say we all have a side to us which we choose to ignore and not be evil.

KaHn

Dracata · 31 Jul 2007 at 10:58

I'd say man is inherently evil to be honest, generally we are a very destructive and selfish race, history and the present has taught us that.

knowledge123 · 31 Jul 2007 at 10:59

I'd say good, but the evil can manifest itself in different ways.

V4NT0M · 31 Jul 2007 at 11:00

I would say that man is inherently too occupied with the concepts of good and evil to realise his full potential.

iCraig · 31 Jul 2007 at 11:00

cleanbluesky said:
So, if you had to choose - would you say that the human race is inherently good or inherently evil (constructive vs destructive)?

We're constructive. We wouldn't be here, or at least as advanced and civilised, if we were inherently destructive. Despite mankind's failings and mistakes, as a whole we've accomplished a lot and we've soared in terms of our social evolution. Flight, medical breakthroughs, space exploration etc. No other species on Earth has come close to achieving what we have.

cleanbluesky · 31 Jul 2007 at 11:03

KaHn said:
I come across as good but I am pretty evil.

Go on... you can't just toss that in without explanation

Skree · 31 Jul 2007 at 11:04

Well, We're inherently greedy, aggressive, competitive, xenophobic, manipulative, exploiting, dishonest creatures..

But at the end of the day, man is just a highly evolved monkey. Animals are not evil. They just act on basic necessity.

What sets us apart is the sense of "i" and "Those which are not me"

We know how to treat others well, but still we exhibit the aforementioned character traits. Is this not a true definition of evil? Those who know better but yet still carry on

Dolph · 31 Jul 2007 at 11:05

Man as a group is neither, a man as an individual can be either, and to compound the problem further there is the possibility of doing good acts for evil reasons, and doing evil acts for good reasons.

And that's without getting into the whole issue of good and evil being subjective and always depending on point of view for definition.

div0 · 31 Jul 2007 at 11:07

I think as a race we're inherently good. If we weren't then we'd probably have wiped ourselves out by now.

But there's no doubt that things like greed can bring out the very worst in some people.

D.P. · 31 Jul 2007 at 11:09

cleanbluesky said:
DISCUSS

Sometimes it seems that people have a tendency to either help each other or try and destroy each other.

So, if you had to choose - would you say that the human race is inherently good or inherently evil (constructive vs destructive)?

People are born neither inherently evil or good, they simply exist. We as adults invent the terms good and evil, for the concepts do not exist in the animal world.

What is good and evil is determined by society and chnages with society.

The concept of good and evil also require non-deterministic human behavior.

Stag · 31 Jul 2007 at 11:10

You cannot state that man is inherently good or evil because you haven't defined or modelled what exactly being good or evil entails.

Mat · 31 Jul 2007 at 11:11

Dolph said:
Man as a group is neither, a man as an individual can be either, and to compound the problem further there is the possibility of doing good acts for evil reasons, and doing evil acts for good reasons.

And that's without getting into the whole issue of good and evil being subjective and always depending on point of view for definition.

Agreed, as a species I dont think we are any different than any other species when it comes to being good or evil, we are animals after all. It is our increased ability to reason that leads to actions of one type or the other. There is also the nature / nurture factor to be taken into consideration; a person brought up in 'good' surroundings will effectively become 'good' and vice versa.

.walls · 31 Jul 2007 at 11:11

Man is neither inherently good or evil. He is simply a product of of his upbringing.

Plus the fact that good / evil are concepts created by man... therefore not real in nature!

V4NT0M · 31 Jul 2007 at 11:11

Btw, why is there no "man is neutral" option to this question.

Its like asking; 'Is killing a man good or evil?'

JimmyEatWorms · 31 Jul 2007 at 11:14

Depends which man you're talking about.

Now, woman? That's a different story...

Kreeeee · 31 Jul 2007 at 11:17

Hang on, where's the usual post about clearbluesky going on another course?

KaHn · 31 Jul 2007 at 11:27

cleanbluesky said:
Go on... you can't just toss that in without explanation

Yes I can, because the things which make me evil are not very nice, and are parts of myself i keep to myself.

KaHn

Spuds · 31 Jul 2007 at 11:27

When was the last time you had to teach a child to be bad? It's inherent in all of us but through our upbringing most of us learn how we should act towards each other

KaHn · 31 Jul 2007 at 11:29

Spuds said:
When was the last time you had to teach a child to be bad? It's inherent in all of us but through our upbringing most of us learn how we should act towards each other

When was the last time you had to explain to a child its not his fault he is being beaten every few days?

(not saying i have i was just using your quote as a point to base mine against)

KaHn