Is humanity inherently good, evil or neutral?

[infinix]

Poll: 1) Is our species good for the most part save a few bad apples or 2) is our species prone to self-destructing behavior and we only held in check by our civilization and social structure? 3) Or are we born neutral and we become what we become because of our environment?

I don't intend for this to become a religious debate. I'm simply interested in what the general consensus is.

 

[Asbo Zaprudder]

Beyond Good and Evil

We see the morality of the world through Christian goggles.

 

[Holdfast]

Define: Good

(or Evil and Neutral for that matter).

With that caveat, I think there are very few people who actively approach life with the intent of worsening other people's life experiences. I guess that's equivalent to a conventional definition of good, so that's what I ticked, but really it's all semantics.

 

[Jetfire]

Good.

But the road to Hell is paved with "good" intentions.

 

[LitmusDragon]

Well defining "Good" is the tricky part. Some religious point of views define "good" as only rigidly following the word of God (aka the word of religious leaders) and without it we're all basically evil. A looser definition of good might be empathy for other life and a wish not to do harm and I think most if not all of us are born with that, so I would argue we are born good. It's only as we get older that we become more calloused.

(I'm not necessarily holding up empathy as an ideal, in fact excess empathy can be quite problematic in making the right decisions ...)

 

[infinix]

Beyond Good and Evil

We see the morality of the world through Christian goggles.

That's not true. Traditional Chinese teachings around the time of Confucius says that people are born without blemish. If a person grows up evil, its because those who raised the person didn't teach him/her well. It the environment that would turn a person evil.

 

[ITL]

 

[Asbo Zaprudder]

From a selfish-gene point of view, good would equate to what most enables your genetic pattern or related patterns to survive and even thrive in a largely hostile, uncaring Universe. Evil would be that which threatens the continued persistence of those patterns or which subverts them to its own survival. [Possibly not a good summary.]

 

[Amaris]

I believe humanity is inherently good, with "good" defined as having the intention of positively impacting the life experiences of themselves and others.

 

[infinix]

Define: Good

(or Evil and Neutral for that matter).

I'm using a very broad brush here. So I'm defining Good as

Will help others in need.
Will stay truthful and honest.
Will not bring harm to bear on other unless its for self-preservation.

Evil is opposite of those things above. And Neutral is neutral.

 

[Asbo Zaprudder]

Beyond Good and Evil

We see the morality of the world through Christian goggles.

That's not true. Traditional Chinese teachings around the time of Confucius says that people are born without blemish. If a person grows up evil, its because those who raised the person didn't teach him/her well. It the environment that would turn a person evil.

I should have said "Most people in the West". Anyway, Confucius was talking bollocks IMO.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

Voted!

@ITL: Carl Spock Rocks!

 

[Kirby]

I think humanity is inherently is good, and I can't imagine any baby being born evil, but their experiences through life and interacting with other humans can turn them evil.
That would be an interesting science experiment, kind of like the Truman Show.

 

[iguana_tonante]

There is no good or evil: only power, and those too weak to seek it.

QFT

 

[Eyes]

Hmmm. Maybe humanity is neutral, but as most of us are subjected to good experiences at the beginning of our life, most of us are brought up with morals.

There might be the odd exception, but none of us are born either way or the other, it's our experiences that define us.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

Human beings are inherently human. Values are acquired.

 

[Marie1]

I don't think humans are good or evil per se, but I do think that a lot of people are very greedy. If the majority of people all wanted the world to be better, I can't see why it wouldn't be.

 

[Holdfast]

There is no good or evil: only power, and those too weak to seek it.

QFT

Voldemort's been cribbing off of Nietzsche. Or vice versa. I smell a spin-off novel.

Or an odd couple sitcom. Voldemort & Nietzsche, to the Perfect Strangers theme...

 

[Tan Ru]

I would say Fallen as a better description...

Incapable of perfection or completeness while relying our own limited strength and knowledge.

 

[KJbushway]

Right now, where like in the teenage years of our civilization. We still have a lot to learn, but I believe that humans are naturally good, or atleast we can work our way to that point.