Are humans inherently good or inherently evil?

[retyopy]

So I was thinking, because... Because... Of socks, I guess.

Woolen socks.

So anyway, socks, and I wondered, are people good or evil? And then I thought, screw that, that's LAME, my socks deserve BETTER.

Wait, wait, let my start over. Actaully, let's skip to the end. Disregard everything except for socks. SOCKS.

Alright, so when people are born, are they good, evil, or are they a blank slate?

DISCUSSION!

EDIT: Oh, and by evil, I don't mean Hitler evil, more Plankton evil. From SpongeBob. Not the miniature sea creautures.

EDIT 2: Yes, yes, very clever, this thread "socks." That stopped being funny the second time round.

 

[Yassen]

I wouldn't say we're born "evil". We're just born as assholes and raised not to be.

 

[RejjeN]

People are inherently dicks.

 

[Dark Knifer]

Neither. We are whatever our social environment and personality leads us to be.

 

[Aprilgold]

I wouldn't say we're born "evil". We're just born as assholes and raised not to be.

This, some will go back to their dickish nature, and some will fight it, I for one fight it.

 

[Thaluikhain]

I wouldn't say we're born "evil". We're just born as assholes and raised not to be.

More or less.

Mind you, the idea of "good" is restrictive...there are things you don't do. You have to be taught these restrictions exist, and what they are.

 

[Blue Hero]

Born neutral. Babies aren't evil. They're just annoying. Become an meany or nice fellow depending on how you're raised and all that.

 

[Baradiel]

The whole nature vs nurture argument, combined with the ever changing perception of right and wrong/good and evil.

Short answer: no.

Slightly longer answer: Apart from good and evil being society's way of labelling things to make them easier to understand, I'm firmly in the Nurture camp either way. Your personality isn't planned from your birth, and your position on life's karma meter is neutral at birth.

 

[similar.squirrel]

This thread socks.

You said it.

I think OP should think before s/he posts.

 

[Danny Ocean]

[HEADING=1]Both.[/HEADING]

Anyone who thinks otherwise needs to get out more.

*snip*

 

[SckizoBoy]

Neither. We are whatever our social environment and personality leads us to be.

That's more what we are out of necessity, rather than what we are out of desire.

OT: Humans are 'inherently' neither good nor evil, rather all humans are selfish. Even selfless acts are borne from selfish desires, however much they may not seem so.

Whether those intents are for 'good' or 'evil' purposes is up to the individual.

Or whatever...

 

[Robert Ewing]

Not evil. No way, we are born neutral I'd say, completely impartial.

It's up to factors like upbringing, and environmental things that define what we will align ourselves to.

 

[Thaluikhain]

I for one fight it.

Very few people wouldn't say that about themselves, though.

 

[Dark Knifer]

Neither. We are whatever our social environment and personality leads us to be.

That's more what we are out of necessity, rather than what we are out of desire.

True that, but I'd say the social environment and personality affect what we desire quite a substantial amount to.

 

[retyopy]

This thread socks.

You said it.

I think OP should think before s/he posts.

Well, thanks for the constructive critiscm then. You really explained a lot.

SA-LASH A-SARCASM

 

[Signa]

Good and Evil are a human construct. So neither?

The point is, you can have dickish tendencies or not, but that doesn't make you "evil." The issue comes in when you look at the fact that we are trying to live in a modern society where being dickish means "doesn't play well with others." Not playing well with others basically means you don't wish to participate in society, and therefore wish to hamper human progress. Society is probably humanity's greatest construct, so trying to wreck that is basically the worst thing you can do, so it's easy to just label that as "evil."

 

[JoJo]

Babies aren't either good or evil, as they don't understand the consequences of their actions, so they can't have a morality. As for once we are old enough to be moral, I'd say humanity generally leans towards good as we have an in-built sense of morality which only a small minority of people geninuely subvert. If the majority of people were amoral, the society would simply fall apart as all societies, both animal and human, rely on only having a small number of "cheaters" who don't contribute, otherwise the whole group collapses.

 

[Scarim Coral]

I say neutral since a baby is born innocent but that because it has not yet done anything good nor evil no crying all the time isn't evil).