Is human nature inherently good or evil?

[Jorick]

I'm inclined to think that while humans can do incredibly shitty things either as individuals or collectively as a group, the good people does is more prevailant and a hell of a lot more understated. I would like to think that it was the goodwill of mankind that got us this far and trading with each other instead of fighting each other was partially due to our innate needs and abilities to cooperate. We do great things when we work together, and it's taken a long time, bit generally most of the world's gotten to the point where we realize it's better to work together than to fight each other. We have things like human rights and freedoms and functional democracies. We share information and goods, and we send aid when our neighbours need it. Overall, I'd say we're more on the positive than negative side.

I mean, it says a lot that the few dictatorships and absolute monarchies are hellholes with gross human rights violations and strained relations with the rest of the world. It's almost as if we as a species decided that even our lowest members of society deserve rights and dignity.

We don't always get it right, and we have tens of thousands of years of atrocities to support that, but we always kept moving forward and striving to do better. Sure, you can argue that it's entirely out of self interest, but I don't know about that. A lot of people do some pretty selfless things to help and inspire others, and it says a lot about us that they tend to be regarded as heroes. Hell, in Canada, one of our most famous heroes was Terry Fox, a young man who lost a leg to cancer and made it his goal to run across Canada to collect a dollar from every citizen to raise money to fight cancer and raise awareness. He ultimately died when the cancer spread, but decades later we still hold huge races to carry on his legacy.

I guess what I'm trying to say is don't always look at the bad, or it might be all you see. We live in a wonderful and peaceful time, the best in history, and we got here because generations before wanted to make the world a better place.

See, the problem with saying "look at all these good things, don't always look at the bad!" to a pessimist is that it's easy for a pessimist to then look at those good things and think "well, okay, but people support rights and freedoms in general because it's to their own personal benefit, trading information and goods is also about personal benefit, and those dictatorships just show how fucked up humanity gets at its extremes." I can see what you're trying to say, but you didn't consider one important thing:

THE PESSIMISM TRAIN HAS NO BRAKES! CHOO CHOO MOTHERFUCKER! 8D

 

[Dervish]

Still not opening the doors to any kind of debate.

I just felt the need to comment, having seen everyone else's position.

I'm surprised (want to say pleasantly... But, there's nothing pleasant about people being selfish) to see so many people are actually on the same position as me in this situation...
Maybe it's just a more popular mindset online than IRL?

I was just thinking we're all a bunch of debbie downers, so as a guy who voted good, I needed to ejaculate a more optimistic perspective in this thread's scowly face.

Not to say anyone has an invalid or misguided opinion because subjective topic is subjective, but it's nice to see some opinions that are more positive than not. There's plenty to like about us hoomenz. It's why I socialize with you Nutella jars.

 

[Kestrel]

I'm surprised (want to say pleasantly... But, there's nothing pleasant about people being selfish) to see so many people are actually on the same position as me in this situation...
Maybe it's just a more popular mindset online than IRL?

Ironically, I'm surprised the poll isn't more one-sided towards evil.

 

[Dervish]

See, the problem with saying "look at all these good things, don't always look at the bad!" to a pessimist is that it's easy for a pessimist to then look at those good things and think "well, okay, but people support rights and freedoms in general because it's to their own personal benefit, trading information and goods is also about personal benefit, and those dictatorships just show how fucked up humanity gets at its extremes." I can see what you're trying to say, but you didn't consider one important thing:

THE PESSIMISM TRAIN HAS NO BRAKES! CHOO CHOO MOTHERFUCKER!

This is why it will forever be a yin yang of smiles verses frowns that will go on forever in an unyielding swirl of inconclusive opinions.

Also, I like to imagine the Pessimissm train is Thomas the Tank engine in murderous rampage days.

 

[Gwazi Magnum]

There's plenty to like about us hoomenz. It's why I socialize with you Nutella jars.

Just cause something is found as selfish doesn't mean there's nothing likeable about them. :P

I still like people as much as the next person (well, that depends on the crowd honestly), I'm just on the more cynical side of this question specifically.

 

[Decimate]

Still not opening the doors to any kind of debate.

I just felt the need to comment, having seen everyone else's position.

I'm surprised (want to say pleasantly... But, there's nothing pleasant about people being selfish) to see so many people are actually on the same position as me in this situation...
Maybe it's just a more popular mindset online than IRL?

I disagree with you in that there is anything wrong in being selfish. Selfishness, like stupidity, can be a force for good as well as evil. Look at those who stand up and announce that they want to make the planet better.

When asked why they want to do this, they typically answer: "Because we live here."

It still obtains something positive/good from the equation.

Civilization as a whole is built on a foundation of selfishness whether individualistic or collective. Money, for example, is a primary tool for this. The vast majority of us do not go to work everyday to get little bits of paper. We go to work everyday to earn something that will allow us to continue our pursuit of pleasure whether it be in the form of survival aspects (food) or something of equal value. And it just so happens to keep our society stable.

Only in excess can selfishness be considered "wrong" in my opinion.

 

[Kestrel]

I disagree with you

Remember the part in the OP where it's explicitly stated not to challenge viewpoints AKA not to make it a debate thread?

Yeah. That.

 

[unanun]

Evil might simply be a by product of our imperfect brains. Dunbar's number is a suggested upper limit to the amount of meaningful social relationships we can form.

Broadly speaking, western religions teach about original sin, while confuciaism (Mencius) teaches that we are born innately good.

 

[Brovo]

Something else to keep in mind is that it is also far easier to succumb to pessimism than to upkeep optimism for most people. It is plainly and painfully easier to believe that the world is full of horrendous evil, rather than accept that the world is largely unknowing and indifferent toward your meagre existence. It is why we even have religions that speak of unknowable afterlife, or original sin, or karma. I mean, really. It's much easier to think "everyone is shit and I shouldn't care" than to be optimistic and disappointed every time humanity does something dumb. Given that 7 billion humans exist, the opportunity for mass stupidity is prevalent.

However, being more inclined to pessimism, I stare at terrible tragedies and can't help but realize to take a position of humanity being inherently evil is illogical. The sheer volume of people who will throw money and man hours at problems created by either nature or mankind seems to bely a greater trend towards altruism. We are social animals, this makes sense.

Now whether you believe people remain good or turn evil given circumstances of convenience or fear is purely up to you. I can't claim to know.

 

[unanun]

From Victor Frankl's "Man's Search For Meaning"

"Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way."

 

[Brovo]

"Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way."

Sounds like stoicism 101.

 

[unanun]

Frankl was the pioneer of logotherapy - i.e., therapy of meaning - and was a survivor of the concentration camps. He had a very good outlook on life. I absolutely recommend the book to anyone.

 

[Hatsune Candy]

When asked why they want to do this, they typically answer: "Because we live here."

Ya know, usually when someone's asked that particular question, they're not so straight forward about it. Typically they answer something more along the lines of, "So that future generations can live better," and whatnot. At least, in my experience they do. It still falls in with what you're saying, and I don't disagree; I just felt like I ought to point that out.

 

[Seba]

As a rule I believe that humans are inclined to watch other humans suffer rather than help. However, it's also hard enough to help that sometimes people won't. However, when they don't help I don't believe that they chose this out of malice or spite in the majority. Watching people be evil is so entertaining because it's not what the average human would choose to do. They see it as incredible and shocking. Being good doesn't get on the news because in the majority it's everyday and dull.

I dunno, I can't articulate it that well... but I believe that the majority of people will inherently do the right thing when left to their own devices. Otherwise we probably would all be dead by now and taboos wouldn't be quite so... taboo.

 

[Space Cowboy]

When I'm running the world, I'm sending you all to the mines.

 

[ᴛᴏᴄᴋᴀ]

Tabula Rasa! All souls are born blank slates, meaning that they aren't good or evil, they're simply there. Yes, I know the term is used in reference to behavior and learning, but isn't that what makes us good or evil? If there's nothing there, and you do not learn anything, than ultimately you can't be more than a lump of flesh.

 

[Lea]

I'm going to have to say neither to be honest. Whether someone is right or wrong is based on one's own perspective and the moral rules that they choose to go by. Like Deuce said, "Good and evil are entirely human constructs,". Reasons why is because humans aren't born with instructions and must attempt to fill in the blanks with information that they have accumulated overtime. This very thing alone is one of the reasons why I tend not to jump into debates of right or wrongs since both parties are coming into the fight with views based around their personifications rather than stuff that can be proven to be facts. Maybe if humans changed in appearance based on their moral beliefs(Like the sith in Star Wars) then we might have something. But since people look the same regardless of their actions then nothing can be proven in that area. All one can really go on is their subjective beliefs and that's not enough in my opinion.

Now based on my moral beliefs, I do think humans are inherently good(Wish I could change my vote since I put bad before actually thinking about it). However, I also think they are extremely malleable by their surroundings which in turn makes them mostly evil, given the current state of the world. Being a younger brother to an irresponsible sister who hit eighteen before I even reached nine meant that I was going to have a lot of babysitting in my future. When babysitting time came around, I taught her kids things that 'good' people should do like having manners and respect for others etc etc. Of course with my excellent persuasion/manipulation skills, it worked and they began doing it despite the fact that I wasn't really the type to physically discipline them. But when their mother came back, she managed to convert them back to their evil ways...thus starting the battle between us over the purity of her children. Even though I use this example story as a reason for why I perceive people to be malleable, don't think of this as me overgeneralizing things since I'm completely aware that one small group of individuals cannot represent the majority of individuals around the world. That is just one of many cases that I wished to bring up, and it may or may not aid my overall point depending on the person reading this.

So now that I've given you the truth and my opinionated feelings on the subject at hand, I bid you farewell.

 

[Mari]

As it is defined, I voted good.

But the nature of humans is that we tend to do what is good for us, personally. Or for those we specifically have an interest in doing good for. People are focused on the self, as are most other species we know of.

 

[Rainjay]

Evil. Even when being essentially 'good' to each other is ideal, benefits all parties, there's still many of us drawn to being generally cruel and unjust.

 

[Mariposa]

Human nature is inherently good. Good. Good first. Our nature is goodness. Evil is a point of view. Sadly you cannot prepare anyone for evil, nor convey an understanding of it through language. It must be known personally.

To quote my favorite writer: "People who cease to believe in God or goodness altogether still believe in the devil... Evil is always possible. And goodness is eternally difficult."

Evil always sounds more interesting than good, because we are exposed to it as entertainment. Evil and violence on television, fiction, and games is effortlessly achievable. Whereas Goodness is often fought, choked, half strangled, or surrendered to with humiliation.