Poll: Is man inherently good, or Evil?

[acillies45]

Said before, but:

Good and evil are human constructs. It is really impossible to say that ANYTHING is inherently good or evil, hard as that is to believe. The reason being is because something can't be both at the same time, and if two different people have different opinions on the matter, then it really can't be either.

Human are, however, inherently selfish. this sounds negative, but it's not. We evolved to survive and one of the most basic survival instincts is to keep ourselves alive to reproduce and protect our genes. Again, this could sound negative, but since humans are relatively weak creatures (physically anyway) the best way to be selfish is to work together to protect each other, otherwise humans would've died out thousands of years ago.

 

[Flamezdudes]

Depends on what you mean by good or evil. I say neither. Morality, in my opinion is subjective.

Plus, many men who we consider to be "bad" are merely doing what is right for them, they intend to do good for themselves. No one intends to do evil.

 

[DrOswald]

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.

I think people, on average fall on about mildly good. There are, of course, extremes on both ends but most people generally mean well.

However, people are inherently ignorant and stupid, which in turn causes prejudice and selfishness. This is why most people, when properly educated, will reject incorrect ideas like racism but embrace such ideas when left to their own devices.

 

[babinro]

I believe nearly everyone is good including those known for horrible acts like Adolf Hitler.

Good is a matter of perspective.
We are out to help ourselves and those we love often at the expense of others.

If I had to sell cigarettes to ensure my family eats, I would not consider my actions evil.
Even though all I'm doing is harming the greater part of society to do so.

 

[Genocidicles]

Man is inherently selfish, which can lead to evil actions.

 

[Erttheking]

All of the evils that man has committed can be traced back to our harsh environment and limited resources, and our good an artificial desire to be better, so neither. It isn't that simple.

 

[Mister K]

Humans always fall to the inherently evil category for me.

We willingly destroy the planet

Not really. Humans are simply destroying the place for THEM and plant & wild life to live. We mess up the planet? K'. Then we die and planet makes new lifeforms (if she wants to, of course). "You are f***ing over big time and you won't be missed"- Mother Earth in some random comic I've found.

OT: Take a really nice look at the animals. Do you think that they are good or evil? Neither. They act as their nature tells them. The only way humans differ is that we, over the course of history, invented and implemented an artificial set of mental restrictions called "morality" in order to create better living conditions. And to not kill each other, of course.

 

[Stepan_RUS']

I do not belive there is any "good" or "evil", to think logically, should there not first be a purpose to life for there to be good or evil? Since we do not have purpose we are aware of
(excluding religious belief)How can good or evil exist? Simply "social construct" i say.

As philosopher nietzsche said, all characteristics have had their days as virtues or vices, depending on if it served the current leadership. even mindless violence was of virtue in ancient Rome.

Also, i would like to add, i am new to this "forum", and i look forward to meeting many interesting people, it is nice to meet you all!))

 

[smokeyninjas]

As inherently social group animals we are genrally born leaning towards being kind to each other but from that point its all about the enviroment & people you grow up around that will have the biggest impact on wether you turn into a dick.

Edit:
On a side note i'd say good & evil are subjective terms based on you own morals
i.e i think the way woman are treated like property/slaves in some muslim countries is pretty evil by my standards yet by the own moral standered it's totaly fine

 

[snekadid]

I think the vast majority of people are decent human beings, compelled to do good rather than evil, but they're not inherently good or evil. They're just human

Well Good is something that is universal in terms of capacity, all animals are capable of achieving good goals since good and evil are entirely mental attributes. Its been shown that animals that have ties to others will preform selfless and/or self sacrificing actions for the benefit of others.

On the other hand, Evil is an entirely human construct. Other animals can't understand the concept of evil since they are ruled by instincts and don't do things they consider to be wrong, just what they see as being necessary. Meanwhile humans are both capable of recognizing an action as "wrong" and yet doing it anyways for self satisfaction. This difference is the balancing point that allows humans to be Evil while animals cannot.

With this in consideration, as the only living creatures within current knowledge that are capable of achieving Evil ends, humans are inherently evil as they are the source of all evil that exists.

You know that, by your logic, animals are just as incapable of doing good as they are of doing evil? Like you said, it's just instinct. If you keep that in mind, humans are suddenly not just the only animal capable of evil, but also the only one capable of good. And the planet is still here...

Except that you missed the point that good is in the mind and intent, animals are capable of not rising to instinct and to not help others and they are capable of resisting instinct telling them to run away in order to sacrifice themselves for others. However evil is a foreign concept which animals cannot comprehend, they do not do things they consider wrong since "wrong" is related to something they shouldn't do. As I said, humans can consider something wrong and still do them to the detriment of all else. This is what makes the action evil.

Captcha: raise cain,..... wtf captcha?

How the hell can you say that animals are capable of setting instinct aside, and then say that the reason they can't do anything evil is because they only have instinct?

For gods sake will you actually read instead of just posting? I did not say they only have instinct, I said that instinct guides their definitions of what is "wrong". They are not computers only following a set of instructions, they have their own set of experiences to add to their decision making process. However they lack the ability to reason so when they make a decision they it is because it is of benefit to themselves or others and that intention is what can make the action good.

This may lead to the cat plays with the prey example, however that lack of reason means the cat sees it as a benefit to it without being able to recognize that what its doing would be considered cruel by human standards and it is that lack of intention that prevents the action from being evil.

Humans can reason and as such can and do commit acts that are not beneficial to either party simply because they can. We can observe and recognize the harm in the action and commit it anyways and that is what creates the capacity for evil.

Lets dumb this down, a human can kill a human that posed no threat to them, no gain and for no particular reason<don't try the insanity claim, Soldiers have done it throughout history with many being renowned figures considered rolemodels of the time>. When a dog kills a human<or another dog, doesn't matter but people seem to have trouble being objective unless a person is involved> the dog is reacting, either to an instinct telling them that the person was a threat or to something the person did such as steal from the dog or attacking the dog.

In comparison, animals have been known to rescue other animals that have no genetic or close relation to them. Now this is a nowhere near 100% happening however it shows that they are capable of positive intentions with a lack of personal gain.

The line from your previous quote was just too silly for me to get to in the time I had between classes last time. Do you have any idea how hard it is to destroy a planet? Do you look at the map and go, "doesn't look that big to me"? Considering humans have only reached a state where pissing in the river was the greatest harm we could do about 5,000 years ago we have done an amazingly good job of damaging the planet and ruining ecosystems for other creatures and our fellow man, and continues to increase exponentially. Are you thinking of a bond style villain blowing up the earths core? Because that kind of blatant self destruction is less evil and more batshit crazy.

 

[C F]

There's no way we're inherently good.
I wouldn't say we're inherently evil either. We're inherently prone to evil, but its an external factor that just kind of lures us into its shady van if we're not smart and/or strong enough to resist it.

I'd say we're blank slates. Existence writes on us and we tend to write on each other.
The internet tends to save us as crappy .jpegs.

 

[viranimus]

Given that good and evil are human constructs I would have to say evil. Our moral standing has through time been altered to find balance with what we consider to be "good" but there was no way for such balance to be obtained without us going around making life miserable for others in the first place.

So really, there is no such thing as good at all. Just the lesser evils we have agreed to tolerate.

 

[Pharsalus]

You can't just make an argument like that, good and evil can be relative depending on culture. Man is a social animal that does not exist in a vacuum, we don't have any documentation of man existing in a social vacuum 'cause guess what, they die and there aren't any. Bad topic, but here's a post for you anyway.

 

[snekadid]

I think the vast majority of people are decent human beings, compelled to do good rather than evil, but they're not inherently good or evil. They're just human

Well Good is something that is universal in terms of capacity, all animals are capable of achieving good goals since good and evil are entirely mental attributes. Its been shown that animals that have ties to others will preform selfless and/or self sacrificing actions for the benefit of others.

On the other hand, Evil is an entirely human construct. Other animals can't understand the concept of evil since they are ruled by instincts and don't do things they consider to be wrong, just what they see as being necessary. Meanwhile humans are both capable of recognizing an action as "wrong" and yet doing it anyways for self satisfaction. This difference is the balancing point that allows humans to be Evil while animals cannot.

With this in consideration, as the only living creatures within current knowledge that are capable of achieving Evil ends, humans are inherently evil as they are the source of all evil that exists.

You know that, by your logic, animals are just as incapable of doing good as they are of doing evil? Like you said, it's just instinct. If you keep that in mind, humans are suddenly not just the only animal capable of evil, but also the only one capable of good. And the planet is still here...

Except that you missed the point that good is in the mind and intent, animals are capable of not rising to instinct and to not help others and they are capable of resisting instinct telling them to run away in order to sacrifice themselves for others. However evil is a foreign concept which animals cannot comprehend, they do not do things they consider wrong since "wrong" is related to something they shouldn't do. As I said, humans can consider something wrong and still do them to the detriment of all else. This is what makes the action evil.

Captcha: raise cain,..... wtf captcha?

How the hell can you say that animals are capable of setting instinct aside, and then say that the reason they can't do anything evil is because they only have instinct?

For gods sake will you actually read instead of just posting? I did not say they only have instinct, I said that instinct guides their definitions of what is "wrong". They are not computers only following a set of instructions, they have their own set of experiences to add to their decision making process. However they lack the ability to reason so when they make a decision they it is because it is of benefit to themselves or others and that intention is what can make the action good.

This may lead to the cat plays with the prey example, however that lack of reason means the cat sees it as a benefit to it without being able to recognize that what its doing would be considered cruel by human standards and it is that lack of intention that prevents the action from being evil.

Humans can reason and as such can and do commit acts that are not beneficial to either party simply because they can. We can observe and recognize the harm in the action and commit it anyways and that is what creates the capacity for evil.

Lets dumb this down, a human can kill a human that posed no threat to them, no gain and for no particular reason<don't try the insanity claim, Soldiers have done it throughout history with many being renowned figures considered rolemodels of the time>. When a dog kills a human<or another dog, doesn't matter but people seem to have trouble being objective unless a person is involved> the dog is reacting, either to an instinct telling them that the person was a threat or to something the person did such as steal from the dog or attacking the dog.

In comparison, animals have been known to rescue other animals that have no genetic or close relation to them. Now this is a nowhere near 100% happening however it shows that they are capable of positive intentions with a lack of personal gain.

The line from your previous quote was just too silly for me to get to in the time I had between classes last time. Do you have any idea how hard it is to destroy a planet? Do you look at the map and go, "doesn't look that big to me"? Considering humans have only reached a state where pissing in the river was the greatest harm we could do about 5,000 years ago we have done an amazingly good job of damaging the planet and ruining ecosystems for other creatures and our fellow man, and continues to increase exponentially. Are you thinking of a bond style villain blowing up the earths core? Because that kind of blatant self destruction is less evil and more batshit crazy.

Geez, forget I said anything. Not gonna waste my time. Enjoy your cynical perspective of the world.

cynical? I'm pointing out an opinion based on scientific facts and you're wishing for gum drops and rainbows hoping that humans are something amazing. If you're gonna argue a philosophical point atleast bring something other than something you saw in a feel good movie.

 

[snekadid]

I do not belive there is any "good" or "evil", to think logically, should there not first be a purpose to life for there to be good or evil? Since we do not have purpose we are aware of
(excluding religious belief)How can good or evil exist? Simply "social construct" i say.

As philosopher nietzsche said, all characteristics have had their days as virtues or vices, depending on if it served the current leadership. even mindless violence was of virtue in ancient Rome.

Also, i would like to add, i am new to this "forum", and i look forward to meeting many interesting people, it is nice to meet you all!))

Very good points, it views good and evil from an outside perspective that I don't specifically prescribe to since I see the meaning of life as not an absolute but rather something you create for yourself and thus good and evil are values you perceive <as I've noted in previous posts>.

The basic concepts of good and evil held by many that there are defined good and evil actions is certainly just the result of social constructs put in place to control human behavior on a small scale.

captcha: it is raining, how did captcha know!?

 

[Bvenged]

These days' I'd say we're generally inherently good, but if you look back into our history you can see why I opted to vote for "evil".

 

[snekadid]

-snip-

Read my original post, Einstein. Scientific facts? You think that just because you consider yourself an intellectual, your subjective opinions are somehow fact? Go ahead then, present me adequate scientific proof.

I did read your original post and it is lacking, I never claimed to have an absolute truth, I said it was an opinion based on scientific facts. That means it is still an opinion and this is a thread about a philosophical debate that has been in existence for longer then you can know. The fact you've lowered yourself to name calling and crying is pathetic as your not raising actual counter points but just getting angry and throwing a tantrum.

Your like the kid in another thread that flipped out and started screaming at everyone when I pointed out that the breast cancer gene had been under patent and denied everything. Seriously, just grow up or don't join threads if you can't stand having your point of view put under scrutiny by others without flying off the handle.