I'm of the opinion that humans tend to be neutral, but we perform "Good" or "Evil" acts because of our surroundings.
Poll: Are People Inherently Good?
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No people are not inherently good, would you without chance of repercussions still be a good person? We are social beings and as such we adhere to certain rules, these being not taking of life unnecessarily, respect of private property among a few others. We are "good" because we wish to remain in the social groups (nation,state,family,friends) So one could say we are "good" out of fear of being an outcast. Which is why many people you see go crazy are the social outcast, they no longer fear the rejection and punishment of their social groups.
/trying to sound like my business ethics professor.
/trying to sound like my business ethics professor.
Thanks!Marv21 said:
Let me expound a little bit. We need look no further than the slums of big cities today (or in areas of Africa and the Middle East) to see how man exists in relative lawlessness- the State of Nature. What does one see these people do just to survive? Nothing inherently altruistic. Quite the contrary.
I understand that these areas are built on corrupt foundations, but the concept of "might makes right" holds true across thee board in lawless zones. Hobbes and Locke both agreed these ideas.
Pretty much that. If anything I think people are inherently bad and we only become good and gain a sense of moral conscience from conditioning of societies "norms and values". Plus any species that is as efficient at killing as the human race can not claim to be good in my opinion.meatloaf231 said:
So what you're saying is that if a person were to walk up to a TV store that was on fire, and the elderly clerk was trapped, they would always run in to steal a TV than help the person?aussiesniper said:
People are both good and bad. You'll never find a good person that has never done something bad, or a bad person that has never been kind to anyone.
Me? I have faith in humanity's good side. What I'm losing faith in is humanity's intelligence. But we survive, and as long as we keep surviving without blowing ourselves and the entire planet up, I'll keep on hoping.
EDIT: To answer the question better, yes, I believe people have inherent tendencies to be kind to one another. We can just decide to ignore them more easily then other species.
Me? I have faith in humanity's good side. What I'm losing faith in is humanity's intelligence. But we survive, and as long as we keep surviving without blowing ourselves and the entire planet up, I'll keep on hoping.
EDIT: To answer the question better, yes, I believe people have inherent tendencies to be kind to one another. We can just decide to ignore them more easily then other species.
There is a part of us that tells us to be selfish and untrusting. Those are just our instincts to keep the Human race going. However there is another part of us that tells us to deny that and help others even if it doesn't help us at all. There is good in every human being, just sometimes they are too desperate to listen to their good side or just choose to ignore it.
Good and Evil are a point of view so how can you realy say someone is born 'good'. In a society such as ours we have a specific set definition of good and bad. If people don't follow the ideal of good then they are labeled bad. To be born good totally depends on the place and people.
Because humans are social beings, a neutral person would rescue the clerk. Also, why would anyone want a burning TV?Chips the Magic Dragon said:
Actually that's pretty dead on if I remember correctly. I agree with this, leave 5 children in a room with a bunch of food and water without teaching them anything (though I've no idea how they would survive on it's own or how a caretaker wouldn't instill their values in them) and they'll just serve themselves and probably fight each other.black lincon said:
The only real way to tell this, though, is through one's personal definition of good and evil as some people will look at it and say their trying to survive others will point at a couple kids and say their bastards.
Hard for me to say. All the people I've ever met are essentially nice people at the heart of things, but I've met countless people who seem to have absolutely no regard for anything that doesn't help better them.
I'd say people aren't inherently good- they are in general good at the core. They're not inherently evil, though.
I'd say people aren't inherently good- they are in general good at the core. They're not inherently evil, though.
Are people inherently good?
Well we're humans. We come out of the womb much earlier (in terms of actual development, not the length of time itself) than would be normal for other animals and as such we retain very little in the way of inherent behaviours that you see in nature and have to learn the vast majority of our behaviour from observing the world around us. The likelihood of infants being born with an ingrained need to follow a moral code as set by the society it is born into (that prior to birth it has no knowledge of) seems a tad unlikely.
Also there's this
If this kid was inherently good I'll eat my chef hat.
Well we're humans. We come out of the womb much earlier (in terms of actual development, not the length of time itself) than would be normal for other animals and as such we retain very little in the way of inherent behaviours that you see in nature and have to learn the vast majority of our behaviour from observing the world around us. The likelihood of infants being born with an ingrained need to follow a moral code as set by the society it is born into (that prior to birth it has no knowledge of) seems a tad unlikely.
Also there's this
If this kid was inherently good I'll eat my chef hat.
Arguably people only act in a kind way to others in order to further their own goals. It's my view that people have to be "good" in order to get a society that co-operates in order to meet the desires of that society. So, on the grand scale of things I don't think anyone is "good" per say.
I believe there to be a lot of truth in Freud's 'man is wolf to man' theory. Humans are very capable of doing horrible things to each other. But the social order does its job magnificently and we all pretty much fall in line.