Is humanity inherently good, evil or neutral?

[F. King Daniel]

There has to be a balance of good and evil in the universe for either to have any meaning to us.

That old books like the bible are still relatable to people today tells me that nothing in our species' nature has changed in almost 2000 years. We may have better laws (at least in some parts of the world) and bitchin' fast internet, but we are no more good or evil as a whole now than we were then.

As for Nature vs. Nurture... I'd say it's a bit of both. When you get right down to it, mental states are just physical states - chemicals in our brains altering our perceptions etc. Some will have more of those chemicals which leave them predisposed to violent or bad behaviour than others.

(*awaits wrath of people who actually know what they're talking about*)

 

[JarodRussell]

I think people start out trying to be good, but then the real world gets a hold of them and, well.......

What is the "real world"?

 

[RandyS]

I think people start out trying to be good, but then the real world gets a hold of them and, well.......

What is the "real world"?

When it happens, you'll know.

 

[JarodRussell]

I think people start out trying to be good, but then the real world gets a hold of them and, well.......

What is the "real world"?

When it happens, you'll know.

No, what do you mean by "real world"? The society dynamic? That is not a universal absolute, you know, because it can change with some effort. And it's subjective, too. I personally don't know bad people. But others are literally surrounded by criminals.

 

[thestrangequark]

What is the "real world"?

When it happens, you'll know.

No, what do you mean by "real world"? The society dynamic? That is not a universal absolute, you know, because it can change with some effort.

Maybe they don't use the term where you come from (are you French, by the way?), but "the real world" is a term obnoxious assholes who think they've experienced more life than others and gone through more hardships use to patronize people (usually the young).

 

[FordSVT]

Poll: 1) Is our species good for the most part save a few bad apples

I think most individuals just want to be relatively free to say and do what they need to do to get by in life, and don 't have any great desire to inflict pain or suffering on others. If that's "good", then I do think that we're a decent people, when looked at as a whole.

2) is our species prone to self-destructing behavior and we only held in check by our civilization and social structure?

Our civilization and social structure is as much a part of our evolution as any other aspect of our behaviour. We're inherently social animals. I don't think any species can survive long if they're prone to self-distruction.

3) Or are we born neutral and we become what we become because of our environment?

I believe that all of us have in-born predispositions and biases towards certain preferences and behaviours, but they are greatly influenced by our up-bringing. I'm not counting people with impaired cognitive functions like psychopaths.

I kind of object to the idea that people are Dungeons and Dragons characters whose morality can be defined by a single word in the first place.

 

[Gepard]

I kind of object to the idea that people are Dungeons and Dragons characters whose morality can be defined by a single word in the first place.

Speak for yourself – I'm Always Chaotic Neutral.

 

[bigdaddy]

We are evil, we are a bateria that goes around and destroys things.

However can you be evil if we are too stupid to know we are evil?

 

[Jax]

Setting aside Good/Evil is a open ended point depending who you are and were you are. The world is rarely black n white and so is Humanity.

 

[RandyS]

What is the "real world"?

When it happens, you'll know.

No, what do you mean by "real world"? The society dynamic? That is not a universal absolute, you know, because it can change with some effort. And it's subjective, too. I personally don't know bad people. But others are literally surrounded by criminals.

You're right, "real world" is a subjective term, and I was trying to use it that way. What I should have said was "majority" instead.

I know alot of bad people and criminals. Or I used to. many of them came out of my own family.

 

[RandyS]

When it happens, you'll know.

No, what do you mean by "real world"? The society dynamic? That is not a universal absolute, you know, because it can change with some effort.

Maybe they don't use the term where you come from (are you French, by the way?), but "the real world" is a term obnoxious assholes who think they've experienced more life than others and gone through more hardships use to patronize people (usually the young).

Weither you wish to believe it or not, experience does go hand in hand with age. It's a fact.

 

[MetalPants]

We are a flawed and corrupt species. Love, kindness, and other "good" things are an aberration to the basic fundamental nature of man.

 

[thestrangequark]

No, what do you mean by "real world"? The society dynamic? That is not a universal absolute, you know, because it can change with some effort.

Maybe they don't use the term where you come from (are you French, by the way?), but "the real world" is a term obnoxious assholes who think they've experienced more life than others and gone through more hardships use to patronize people (usually the young).

Weither you wish to believe it or not, experience does go hand in hand with age. It's a fact.

Not necessarily. I've experienced more in 28 years than many do their entire, long lives, and I'm sure there are kids out there who've experienced more in 15 years than I have in almost 30. But that's not the point I'm arguing anyway. I get annoyed by that condescending phrase because it assumes that somehow going through tough situations makes some one a better person. This is bullshit, and I stand by what I said before: it is an obnoxious, patronizing phrase that makes the speaker sound not wise, but douchey.

 

[KJbushway]

Most people I have met basically live their lives by the sweat on their back and their tough hands, a man doesn't need a mansion or castle becuase a man's or woman's home is their castle. You get what you need, no more, and if someone needs help you offer. The bigger help the small no matter the costs, Golden rule, etc. If we lived by this, we would probably be more tolerable as a civilization, and we would be the better for it. Just my opinion.

 

[RJDiogenes]

As for Nature vs. Nurture... I'd say it's a bit of both. When you get right down to it, mental states are just physical states - chemicals in our brains altering our perceptions etc. Some will have more of those chemicals which leave them predisposed to violent or bad behaviour than others.

(*awaits wrath of people who actually know what they're talking about*)

I know what I'm talking about. You have it exactly right.

 

[Amaris]

I kind of object to the idea that people are Dungeons and Dragons characters whose morality can be defined by a single word in the first place.

Speak for yourself – I'm Always Chaotic Neutral.

I'm pleasantly plump and adorably efficacious.

 

[Nerys Ghemor]

Our natural inclination is towards evil. However, I do believe that we have the potential for much greater. In my belief it is God who helps us to express that. We lose ourselves to Him--yet what emerges is more who we ought to be, more sharply defined as us. I wish I knew how to explain that better, but I have seen Diane Duane do that through imagery in The Wounded Sky. C.S. Lewis also did so in The Great Divorce. These are the best images I know to explain this.

 

[JarodRussell]

Our natural inclination is towards evil. However, I do believe that we have the potential for much greater. In my belief it is God who helps us to express that. We lose ourselves to Him--yet what emerges is more who we ought to be, more sharply defined as us. I wish I knew how to explain that better, but I have seen Diane Duane do that through imagery in The Wounded Sky. C.S. Lewis also did so in The Great Divorce. These are the best images I know to explain this.

God has been evil himself. Slaughtering countless of people just because they didn't do what he wants falls under my definition of evil.

 

[Nerys Ghemor]

Setting aside Good/Evil is a open ended point depending who you are and were you are. The world is rarely black n white and so is Humanity.

I would actually beg to differ on this point. When you go down to the cultural level, yes, there will be differences of opinion in a legalistic sense. However, on the large points there ARE overarching principles in operation, much like what you see in the Ten Commandments. I could take people from ANY part of the world and ask them if they agree with the commandment, "Do not murder." Unless I picked a psychopath, I suspect I would get unanimous agreement. Not everyone would agree on what is murder versus justifiable homicide, but the universality of that general understanding--that you do not take life without an extraordinary reason to do so, and that to do so unjustifiably merits punishment, is a universal concept.

Most of the other major moral laws are the same, to the point that I believe them to be part of the inherent structure of the universe, woven into it just as physical law and mathematical law are. This points, therefore, to the existence of objective truth. We do not get it all right. And even where we get the principle, we do not always apply it right. We are inherently flawed. But I do believe that we must not accept relativism as an answer--we must keep pushing to understand what IS, in that absolute sense, right.

This of course means we must be humble enough to accept correction. Without that, all we have is blind, destructive fanaticism. We must understand that we cannot simply rest in easy answers, or on our own knowledge. THAT is what I believe it means when we are told in the Bible not to lean upon our own understanding. It does not mean, "Do not try to understand; do not question." It means, don't get arrogant. Don't assume you know everything--understand that what you know is the merest fraction of what there is out there to be known and understood. Keep trying, keep learning, but know that you are a quantum, compared to the infinite. (And a tiny, tiny thing, yes...but valuable and created with love. We can't forget that, either. )

 

[JarodRussell]

Most of the other major moral laws are the same, to the point that I believe them to be part of the inherent structure of the universe, woven into it just as physical law and mathematical law are.

Morals are manmade, and very adjustable. And with morals you easily get into mindsets of superiority. Cannibalism, one random example. Horrible, horrible. But perfectly normal for certain tribes to eat the dead. Why are our morals "more right" or "better" than theirs, and who gives us a right to dictate morals? And when it comes to adjustability of morals... let's say you've crashed with your airplane in a mountain range in winter, cannibalism can save your life.