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Savagery vs civilization
Savagery vs civilization
Are humans innately evil or inherently good
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Evil is in our Nature
Are humans good or evil? Society has been asking themselves this question for decades. Humans tend to only do what they think is best for themselves. We make quick decisions based off of resolutions that we make within seconds usually these decisions are bad and the average human only acts for themselves and we are evil because of it. Our beastly qualities and savage mindsets are shown through numerous novels written throughout history leading us to the conclusion that men are in fact, evil.
Humans start with a blank mindset, it is only their surroundings and the people around them that change their natural inclinations towards evil behavior. Humans are not inherently good because good is something agreed upon by society.
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When reading this we start to question whether people are really who we think they are and or if society and the presence of adults are the only thing keeping us in check and alive. I believe that humans are naturally bad because our base mentality is one of evil. Millions of years ago we fought unnecessary wars, raped killed and tortured people based on their sex, race and skin color. Not surprisingly we still do this today. “What if evil doesn't really exist? What if evil is something dreamed up by man, and there is nothing to struggle against except our own limitations? The constant battle between our will, our desires, and our choices?” (Libba Bray, Rebel Angels). This can be interpreted in many ways but, after reading Lord of the flies I can only think of one way. This is explaining that evil is within us and we are the only influence we have on ourselves, we are restraining ourselves from becoming savages but when put in different circumstances it can be easy to forget this. Some may dispute this and claim that we are naturally put on a good path and at our worst we are still good. I must respectfully disagree with those who state that for humans come from a long line of savages and though we have evolved a great deal we still have the evil burning inside us us just in case we need to resort back to it. Which is exactly what the boys did in Lord of the
Are humans naturally good or evil? This age-old question dates back to as early as the Chinese Dynasty and is still being argued to this day. Thomas Hobbes believed that all humans were born cruel, that they began cheating others to benefit themselves. Whereas, John Locke believes that humans are born good and pure, but become evil based on experiences and obstacles in life. In my opinion, all humans are born good and become cruel based on their experiences. I feel this way because when you look at a new born baby, they are seeing the world for the first time, and although they are screaming and crying, they are pure. They do not want to do anyone any harm, and you do not wish to cause them any harm. The same goes for young, growing children
Good and evil make the world we are living in today. However evil stands out more than good and people tend to focus on the evil behavior of humans more often. Human nature tends to decide that if someone looks evil they will be evil. The good and the bad make up the goodness in life. It is impossible to always be good or evil but there are things that can make us better or worse as a person. For one to be free, one must live in a world of evil and good.
We would like to believe that humans are inherently good at heart, yet with all the tragic and horrific events going on in the world, this thought seems like a childish fantasy or dream. What if it were the opposite of what we would like to believe, and that people are evil inside, and society is just structured to hold the evil in? Without a society, Thomas Hobbes believed there would be “war... of every man against every man,” and that life would be “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short” (Beck et al, 195). Lord of the Flies suggests that man is inherently evil, and this shows through when society crumbles, just like the conch breaking on the island.
What is considered bad for someone may be good for another. The definition of what is bad is about that person’s views on life, which leads me to conclude that one’s definition of what is good or bad is subjective, and this is why there is a plethora amount of controversy in the question: Are people essentially good? In the story “A Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson” by Mary Rowlandson, she mentions how she believes that people are born evil and need to repel for their sins by believing and following God.
In my opinion, people are not born inherently evil—it is a learned behavior that is influenced by their experiences, their choices, their circumstances, and even the interests and thoughts that they choose to entertain. An “evil” person is incapable of empathizing with others—he routinely dismisses other people’s emotions and feelings and instead receives pleasure from wronging and harming others. This makes him unapologetically selfish, egotistical, and disdainful in his words, actions, and behavior. If he appreciates the needs or desires of others in any respect, it is only to further his own interests and desires, which is ultimately stripping them of their humanity and objectifying them by making them no more than a means to an end—serial murders and rapists would be prime examples of people who I would personally consider to be evil. Again, however, it is important to note that even the evilest of people can still likely have good qualities, especially to those who love them, such as their parents—it is often black and white from an outside perspective, but not so much so for those who care for the
The lines that define good and evil are not written in black and white; these lines tend to blur into many shades of grey allowing good and evil to intermingle with each another in a single human being. Man is not inherently good or evil but they are born innocent without any values or sense of morality until people impart their philosophies of life to them. In the words of John Locke:
Evil is a much studied by psychologist as is the concept of goodness. One is often studied in contrast with the other. Some researchers believe we are born either good or evil. Others believe that the nature of good and evil can be changed. Three main understandings of the concept of good and evil come under the listings of Dispositional, Situational, and Systemic.
Lord of The Flies tells a tale of a large group boys who are not much older than twelve crashing on an island forced to adapt to free will. Considering majority of them are younger they don’t take life seriously yet. In an ambience where anything can happen there is no laws to prevent anything including immoral acts. Evilness is something buried deep within a person until certain circumstances evoke what is natural inclined to do evil. In psychology evil refers to the Lucifer Effect meaning the “ transformation” from good to evil just like Lucifer who originally was an angel disobeyed God, therefore God banished him into hell forever. Evil in the novel slowly lurks around from character to character waiting for the right to present itself and sometimes it's not noticeable because some actions that occurs within the novel wouldn’t be considered as the worst kind of evil.
“In the long run, we shape our lives, and we shape ourselves. The process never ends until we die. And the choices we make are ultimately our own responsibility.” (Eleanor Roosevelt). This is just one of the infinite examples of how human nature has been explored by so many different people. Each and every human is born with the capability of making their own choices. The decisions that they will make in the future will determine how evil they are viewed by others. Although one’s nature and nurture do affect their life, it is their own free will that determines whether or not they are evil.
like Adolph Hitler, or Ted Bundy. I feel that human nature is more evil than good,
I believe that humans have neither a good or evil nature. That good and evil are a man made device and a product of our culture. They are subject to change and are not agreed upon by human’s as a whole species. Babies are born with a clean slate. Good and evil is imparted on them. That without this external involvement babies would not be able to know what actions are good or evil. The following arguments present the questions that I have, that lead to my conclusion.
Are human beings born to be good? Or are we naturally born to be evil? A person’s nature or essence is a trait that is inherent and lasting in an individual. To be a good person is someone who thinks of others before themselves, shows kindness to one another, and makes good choices in life that can lead to a path of becoming a good moral person. To be a bad person rebels against something or someone thinking only of them and not caring about the consequences of their actions. Rousseau assumed, “that man is good by nature (as it is bequeathed to him), but good in a negative way: that is, he is not evil of his own accord and on purpose, but only in danger of being contaminated and corrupted by evil or inept guides and examples (Immanuel Kant 123).” In other words, the human is exposed to the depraved society by incompetent guardians or influences that is not of one’s free will in the view of the fact that it is passed on. My position is humans are not by nature evil. Instead, they are good but influenced by the environment and societies to act in evil ways to either harm others or themself.
Human nature is evil, and goodness is caused by intentional activity. ~ Xun Zi. What Xun Zi is saying is that, it is in our blood to be evil. The goodness in the world comes from intentional actions that we take, that we might not even know that we do. Humans are made with evil in mind, it all started with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Maybe if they did not disobey God, we might not be programmed with evil intentions and thoughts.
In conclusion, human nature is self- preservation and reproduction, which is neither good nor evil. We are later developed by nurture and diverged to behave good or evil. The essence of all human behavior is the desire to survive and pass genes. Self- preservation can also be applied to people around us. As a result, we learn to cooperate and sometimes we sacrifice ourselves to fulfill survival of the species. On the other hand, to survive is not necessarily harming or getting larger share of resources than others. Self- preservation and reproduction as human nature are neutral, without biasing to good or evil.
Based on my knowledge and research, humans are inherently good rather than bad. People have argued whether humans are naturally moral or immoral for several millennia. Jean-Jacques Rousseau, a Francophone Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer from the 1700s, proposed that humans were inherently just. He believed that humans were born good, but civilization turned them corrupt. Thomas Hobbes, an English philosopher, argued that humans were naturally savage and barbaric. Hobbes, on the contrary, believed that humans were innately savage, but civilization made them beneficial.