Are people inherently good or evil?

Question

Assume that the commonly accepted preceptions of what is good and evil hold true

Answer 1

Your question falls prey to Wittgensteinian analytic philosophy. Supposing we do assume that concepts such as "good" and "evil" exist, we would have to reach a commonly accepted definition of both prior to having a discourse on their existence.
In other words, these concepts are abstract, like "love" or "God". If you were seated at a table with a scientist, a theologian, a philosopher, an artist and an atheist, and they were having a discussion about the nature of God, how do you suppose they may ever come to agreement? Their discourse is flawed from the beginning, for the scientist may view God as energy or something in the quantum world, whereas the theologian believes that God is a creator deity or supreme intelligence. Likewise, the philosopher may view this concept as a Prime Mover or First Cause or maybe a mathematical anomaly, while the artist sees God as just a source of divine inspiration. Finally, the atheist may view God as a myth created to organize society or to comfort the human ego to cope with the idea of being finite. Each of these people have a definite idea of what they define God to be, yet their ideas are very different. Therefore, their discourse is meaningless because they are discussing five different things. They may all use the word God with reference to their argument but they are not engaged in honest dialogue.
Your question poses this same problem: Unless we all agree on what the words "good" and "evil" mean, the discussion is pointless.

Answer 2

ahh... trick question

first define what "good" and "evil" is. And in what context. and in what culture.

People have great capacity for good and for evil.

However, i think people find it easier to do "bad/evil" things. for example, for children (before they are taught/"know better") will probably laugh and along with their classmates, make fun of another child instead of telling them to stop and that it's mean to make fun of someone etc. While this doesn't make a child "evil" per se, it still shows that without the prohibitiations placed on us by our culture's moral standards, the law etc. we lean towards the dark side. or something to that effect.

so... inherently evil. is my answer


also. from a biblical perspective (what i think anyways, I'm not sure if this is correct). with the addition of sin into the world/into mankind. It makes us sin (ie. commit evil etc.), thus making us inherently evil ? ... any comments on this?

Answer 3

Everybody likes happiness and peace-of-mind. and this comes with a clean soul by being good. Circumstances make a man evil. allows him to do the things which would make his life easier and follow the wrong path. He gets influenced by his friends, relatives and everybody who is near them until unless he knows what is good and he has a strong bases of morals.

Answer 4

Yes!, However, some good people can become evil by their wants and desires when trying to achieve them. Also some of those that seem (evil), in actuality, are mentally ill!

Answer 5

Commonly accepted by who? Your definition and my definition may vary. The American definition and the Chinese definition may vary. There are 1.2 billion Chinese and 296 million Americans. Does that mean the Chinese definition is MORE commonly accepted?
What if the "commonly accepted" definition changes over time?

Answer 6

Neither. People are inherently selfish.

Most people choose to control their selfishness in order to get along with others and gain by cooperation, by adhering to the "social contract" of civilized society. Altruism is an attempt to gain for oneself by helping others.

Others choose to be selfish and allow their baser natures to dictate their actions: thieves, rapists, sociopaths, christians (they do "good deeds" out of fear of hell to save their own skin, and not because of ethics) etc.

What is called "good" and "evil" is usually a matter of our perceptions of ours and other people's actions.

Answer 7

I don't think we're inherently either/or, I believe we all have the capacity for both. And depending on nature and nurture we develop a capacity for living out of both.

Answer 8

people are good and innocent when they are first born (i don't believe in that original sins stuff), and then depending on how they are raised and by whom they are raised they learn the evil and hatefull things that all humans are guilty of to some degree. but no person is really born evil, they learn it

Answer 9

Good, but people are easily influenced by evil.

Answer 10

a persons being good or bad is based upon the surrounds in which that person was raised in.