Poll: Is man inherently good, or Evil?

[Wackymon]

I have to ask, do you think man is inherently good or evil?

I say that man is man, we aren't either Jesus Christ or Satan! We will strike the sword, kill all life if we do not have to stare our victim in the eyes, we will let people die in car crashes because we're addicted to cars, we'll do things to get ahead unless we have to look at who we're hurting in the eye. If raised in the wild, we will help those they know, and hurt those we don't, because that's just what we do. We fight, we make up, we grow, we shrink, things happen, and, in the end, we aren't good or evil, we're just humans. Stupid, stupid humans who think "Good" and "Evil" are true, because, deep down, we're pack animals. Nothing more.

 

[Dansen]

mkay, pretty much what I was going to say. Capacity for good and evil sort of cancel each other out and leaves nothing but moral ambiguity.

 

[Hagi]

I don't really think humanity is so easily defined.

Neither good nor evil comes anywhere close to covering it. Pack animals falls hilariously short of the mark as well.

To everything you have mentioned, and will mention beyond the most basic physical attributes, there are plenty of exceptions.

We're just people. And I haven't the faintest clue as to what exactly that is because no matter what I'll say there'll be someone somewhere who doesn't match what I say but is still undeniably a person.

 

[The Rogue Wolf]

The easy answer is "yes".

More in-depth, any human being has the capacity for great amounts of what most of us would call "good" or "evil" (or both, depending on circumstances). It's the path of one's life that determines where they'll end up.

 

[Phasmal]

Men specifically?
Just being pedantic about that cause of all the pedants about the fem in feminism.
[small]Just a lighthearted comment, before you all rush to quote me[/small]

Anyway, people can quite obviously be both.
I think most people try to do what's right, they just fuck up a lot.

 

[Shoggoth2588]

I think humans are basically blank slates. The problem is the moral compass can become knocked out of alignment in these really strange and random ways and therein lies a flaw or, glitch in our basic programming. I think there's a patch in the works for that but I could be wrong. No matter what a human does, it believes it is doing what is right which in itself is probably a terrible glitch in itself.

 

[SonOfMethuselah]

Good and evil are completely meaningless terms, defined only by the culture or society you live in. To suggest that a person is inherently one or the other is a question that misses the point of humanity entirely. Obviously there are many theories on this, entire philosophical schools based around it, and numerous books that try and tackle it, but it's almost a non-question.

That's just how I've always felt about it, anyway. Obviously people are free to have their own opinions. I'd actually quite like to meet someone who felt that humanity was inherently evil. I feel like they'd be extremely interesting to talk to, assuming they were at least somewhat open-minded.

 

[Azkar Almsivi]

There is no such thing as good or evil. The world and humanity are amoral.

 

[Xdeser2]

Nobody chooses to be the moutashioed cartoon-ey villian out to destroy the world, Everyone thinks what they're doing is the best choice for everyone. Hitler, Stalin and Bin-Laden never saw themselves as the villans, they were heroes to some and despiciable to (most)others, it just depends what side of the fence you sit on.

In the end most everything we do and every choice we make is seen as good by some and bad by others.

 

[Tiger Sora]

Humans always fall to the inherently evil category for me.

We willingly destroy the planet, everyone of you does, and you could go to extreme lengths to reduce your impact but you never go far on it. If you even do. (Not that I care, so long as we've oil it's burn baby burn for me. Also don't yell at me for criticizing you, it's a harsh truth).
According to the bible it only took the first two born of humanity to commit murder, kinda gods fault though, not being nice to Cain and all.
We've been at war with something or another since the first tales were written down.

The Monsanto Corporation.

Those really annoying people on the internet that seem to go out of there way to make your day just a little bit worse.

They'res plenty of examples. And evil weights more in it's action than goodness. Which is why I think humanity is inherently evil or at least not good.

Still there is a balance being kept, it's why we haven't fallen into total chaos.

 

[excalipoor]

I don't think anyone who believes in what they do can be called "evil". Misguided, maybe, but who's to decide that? Now police officers planning on kidnapping and cooking young women being evil is arguable, but I see that as just another kink. Everyone has them, this one just happens to be harmful to society, and thus isn't (nor should it be) accepted.

I don't think people are really "good" either. Selfishness is the driving force behind all we do. Kindness is just us projecting ourselves and our wishes on others. Do unto others and all that. More than anything, humans are the product of their environment. It's what shapes them, gives them their values and morals. Nowadays few would argue that slavery is justifiable, but someone raised in a society where slavery is the norm and slaves considered subhuman has no reason to question what he knows.

In the same vein, black people in America aren't more likely to die violently because African Americans are inherently more violent, but because statistically speaking, on average, African Americans are poorer than Caucasians, and as such are likely to live in more volatile conditions.

It is what it is.

 

[mjcabooseblu]

The defining characteristic of humanity is how our environment and treatment influences us to grow into different personalities.

 

[MeChaNiZ3D]

For either of those to be the case you would have to have actions that are good or evil from every point of view for people to commit. I think generally people tend to do what they think is right, whether for reasons of revenge, justice, civility, survival, protection, whatever, but these can be good or evil from different viewpoints. The poll results are really not a surprise though.

 

[SajuukKhar]

Good and evil are values, and like forms of value, it is a work of fiction by mankind.

Value a construct of the human imagination, created by primitives to categorize the world and the things in it into groups so that our limited minds can process them. Value does not exist in any shape or form until we give something value by believing it does.

Thusly all forms of value, be they of the standard monetary value, or in the forms of good/evil, or right/wrong, or in a better term, the value of human action, are equally fictitious.

Good/Evil, Right/Wrong, Moral/Immoral, Justice/Injustice, and all such similar things are all fictions constructions built upon the fictitious construct that is value.

Humans can no more be good or evil they can be unicorns, simply because neither unicorns, nor good/evil, actually exist.

 

[Nieroshai]

If anything, humans are inherently selfish. Most of life's evils stem from selfishness, when allowed to go unchecked.

 

[lunavixen]

morality is not a black and white concept as there is a wide variety of what constitutes good and evil to different people. People are selfish for sure.

For what it's worth, people are shaped by how they grow up, their circumstances.

 

[Vault101]

I think both men and women are friggrn brilliant!

we wouldnt have ahceived all we have if we were anything less XD

 

[lacktheknack]

If anything, humans are inherently selfish. Most of life's evils stem from selfishness, when allowed to go unchecked.

http://www.dragonsoftstudio.com/picview/albums/userpics/10001/normal_Ninja_d_-_GandWatch~0.png

Seems pretty easy. Human want what's best for them, which often overlaps with what's socially deemed "evil". So you could argue neither, or you could argue evil. Or, if you're of a rare opinion set, you could even argue that they're good. It depends on what you think of selfishness.

 

[Brotha Desmond]

Good and evil are just a point of view. Something is only "good" or "evil" because we attribute such titles to them.

 

[Eddie the head]

Anyone ever read Pudd'nhead Wilson? You're a product of your surroundings. If your good or bad or somewhere between, its due to how you grew up not your DNA.

I think both men and women are friggrn brilliant!

we wouldnt have ahceived all we have if we were anything less XD

Also I agree with this, indoor plumbing it's nice. Oh, shut up I lived without it for the first 20 years of my life.