Is Man Naturally Good Or Evil - 972 Words

The question of whether man is inherently good or evil has vexed humanity since its appearance. Is man naturally good? Does he live in a state of the noble savage? Or was his natural habitat ,nasty , brutish and short? These questions are important because they help inform the way in which we treat our fellow human beings and structure of society. If man is in fact naturally bad then there is little to be gained in trying to make bad people better. Similarly, if we think that people are naturally good, then one would tend to look at factors outside the control of the person to help explain egregious behaviour. Our view of human nature often informs our view of social justice. Those who believe people are born stupid will be less willing to†¦show more content†¦Additionally the need for survival is stronger than empathy or sympathy which is why he believed that civilisation was needed to ensure that people did not misbehave. Despite the focus on whether man is good or evil I think that perhaps this is not the correct question. Does not everyone have good and evil in them? Are we not good and evil? Does pure evil exist? Does pure good exist? Was hitler entirely evil? Should we not try to understand what makes people bad? Man is neither born good or evil but is heavily influenced by the people surrounding them and the influence of society. If anything man is inherently good and evil. Even in the most extreme circumstances people have exhibited both compassionate and heinous behaviour. In the holocaust people carried out egregious acts of depravity and what can only be classed as evilness. However people also undertook acts of compassion, kindness and great bravery in order to save people from the holocaust, for example Oscar Schindler. If we really are evil, why do people carry out acts of kindness with no care for personal gain? Whilst we are sometimes driven by selfish desires we also have a sense of compassion and morality. What is good and evil? It is sometimes difficult to tell.The environment in which a person is brought up can alter his view on what is acceptable and indeed whatShow MoreRelatedLord of the Flies by William Golding and the Philosophy of Rousseau704 Words   |  3 Pagesthe Sciences and Arts, about his philosophies saying that man is good. Golding is known for his bestselling novel he ever wrote, Lord of The Flies, also expressing his philosophies saying that man is evil. Rousseau and Golding have many contrasts that fight against each other’s philosophies but was never spoken to each other because they lived in different time periods. My view on the spirit of a human without order is that humans are all good even though some don’t show it. Jean-Jacques Rousseau’sRead MoreHumans Are Naturally Evil1507 Words   |  7 PagesHUMANS ARE NATURALLY EVIL The question regarding to the nature of human beings being related to the word evil has been a topic for controversial discussion and debate among scholars and philosophers alike. According to the ardictionary.com, the word evil is defined as Having or exhibiting bad moral qualities; morally corrupt; wicked; wrong; vicious; as, evil conduct, thoughts, heart, words, and the like ,anything which impairs the happiness of a being or deprives a being of any good; anything whichRead MoreThe Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne Essay879 Words   |  4 Pagesacknowledged the reality of evil. Hawthorne believed that every society needed to have a jail and grave yard, â€Å" The founders of a new colony, whatever Utopia of human virtue and happiness they might originally project, have invariably recognized it among their earliest practical necessities to allot a portion of the virgin soil as a cemetery, and another portion as the site of a prison† (2331). He thought that people ar e naturally evil and sin so a jail was needed to keep evil people and influence awayRead More John Steinbecks East of Eden - Biblical Symbols and Symbolism1255 Words   |  6 PagesBiblical Symbolism in East of Eden    Throughout the novel East of Eden, Steinbeck uses many biblical references to illustrate clearly the conflict between the opposing forces of good and evil. Much of the plot of East of Eden is centered upon the two sets of brothers representing Cain and Abel.   Both pairs are similar to Cain and Abel in the way they go about winning their fathers’ favors.   All four give gifts to their fathers, and the fathers dismiss the gifts of Charles and Caleb, the CainRead MoreThe Philosophy Of Human Nature1423 Words   |  6 Pages 1st is about Evil, 2nd is about Good, 3rd is about Every Man for Themselves and 4th is about experience. We are going to learn about four men known and revered for their philosophical teachings on human nature, unfortunately all four have very different opinions. Human Nature what is it? Where does it come from? Why, after so many years do we still not know the answer? The philosophers Mencius, Husun Tzu, Hobbes, and Locke are all very passionate in their beliefs and have written different argumentsRead MoreThe Evil Of Evil People975 Words   |  4 PagesEvil People By nature, humankind tends to be more evil than good. Even though, some people are born with kinder temperament than others, everyone is conceived and birth in sin (Psalm 58.3). For this, in many traditions, once a woman gives birth, the baby is either baptized or blessed by his community to welcome him into the world, and to remove him from sin. People are naturally self-centered, jealous, mean individuals who want to gain, but not work hard. They crave violence, and would instantlyRead MoreAristotle s Virtue Ethics And Aquino s Natural Law1639 Words   |  7 Pagesdeals with moral principles.† People, in their free actions, naturally notice the rightness or wrongness of such actions. Everyone has experienced some satisfaction or remorse for actions taken. When this spontaneous knowledge of the events is integrated into an orderly knowledge, based on some understanding of the causes, it originates ethical science. Ethics is a practical science because it is not limited to th e theoretical study of the good of human acts, but also seeks to apply this knowledge toRead MoreAnalysis Of Grendel And Macbeth 915 Words   |  4 Pages What is Benevolence without Evil? Evil is a part of mankind; it is something that cannot be defeated. â€Å"One recurring theme in early British literature is the idea that evil characters are directly related to experiences of tragedy, pain, confusion, and sadness† (Herrera). In Grendel, tragedy and confusion is seen throughout the story. The theme in the story of Macbeth is tragedy and pain. This early literature exemplifies evil through these themes. The philosophers whose theories support theseRead MoreThe True Nature Of Humankind1309 Words   |  6 Pagessuggest we should just let people self-govern. Many of these different justifications take their root in differing conceptions of our human nature. Put simply, this entire debate reduces to the single question of whether we as humans are intrinsically good, bad, or somewhere in the gray area in the middle. One side of the debate is epitomized by a line from the song â€Å"Demons†: â€Å"No matter what we breed, we still are made of greed†( Imagine Dragons). Thomas Hobbes’ Leviathan, the novel A Separate Peace,Read MoreHenry David Thoreaus Transcendentalism1002 Words   |  5 Pagesinwardly to their natural desires. Although many authors believed that people were instinctually good, there are a few that believed that humans are, by nature, evil. This essay will compare Henry David Thoreau’s positive transcendentalism, which believes everyone is good, to Nathaniel Hawthorne’s negative transcendentalist writings. Henry David Thoreau believed that nature and people were naturally good, and that humans can awaken themselves to that. What it means for humans to be awake is that they