Is a person born Evil?

Question

Is the capacity to harm others, or to be uncaring of your human brothers and sisters a characteristic of a "Dark Soul"?
Do we learn to be evil or is it part of you from birth?

Answer 1

I would like to believe that "Man is born innocent & corrupted by society" but I just do not know if I can accept it as entirely true. If some people are born with such mental conditions as melancholia, could it not also be true that some people are born with mental conditions that would cause them to be "evil"?
People who have no empathy or affectionate feelings for humans or animals are considered sociopaths (people that have no conscience) & it is estimated 4% of the population are considered such.
In Martha Stout's book "The Sociopath Next Door" (ISBN 076791581X) "A sociopath is defined as someone who displays at least three of seven distinguishing characteristics, such as deceitfulness, impulsivity and a lack of remorse. Such people often have a superficial charm, which they exercise ruthlessly in order to get what they want. Stout argues that the development of sociopathy is due half to genetics and half to nongenetic influences that have not been clearly identified."

Answer 2

If you're born with emotions, as everyone is, then, yes, you are born with the capacity to harm others. But, by the same token, you are also born with the capacity to care for others. It's probably impossible to tell which is natural because no one has ever reached an age at which they could demonstrate a natural born penchant without having been exposed to parental influences of some kind. There are those who are born sociopathic (I hope I spelled that correctly) and thus have no sense of compassion, or even real love. However, they're not necessarily evil, they simply have no conscience. There are those who were raised in a loving, nurturing home, and turn out to be murderers. But, there are others who grow up in squalor, with at least one abusive parent, who grow up to be highly successful and to serve the community.

I guess that's a lot of conversation to get to my answer to your question. Be that as it may, I suppose there's no way to prove whether or not we're born with dark souls, but, based on personal observation, I don't think so, at least not universally. I do believe, however, that both evil and goodness is learned, just not universally.

Answer 3

There is some research that suggests that sociopathy (often understood to be the closest approximation of human "evil" from a semantic perspective) is heritable--that is, a lot of the traits associated with that version of evil can be passed down from parent to child.

However, the evil in your question may need some qualification: is someone who has the capacity to harm others or is uncaring of others but doesn't actually harm them and does sometimes care evil? Or does the behavioral dimension have to accompany the capacity?

Answer 4

Ok i am gonna try to spill my thoughts on this but be forewarned i often fail in my attempt to express my view on this subject.

ok... i believe a childs perceptions begin from within the mother. Her Feelings and anxieties and worries are also shared with the baby. so when the child enters our world it is not a clean slate of memories. So If mom had a happy Pregnancy It will effect a child differently then a child that is carried through a tormented Pregnancy...whether mom is having social problems...abusive boyfriend or husband, drug issues, or just naturally nervous or overdramatic but yins get the point.

now part 2. Our Feelings and the way our personality is molded buy experience yes, but as a child it is stronger because our feelings and intuition are both a cause and effect of the way the Brain developes and learns to release certain chemicals throughout the body. I think what we consider evil is simply a "Chemical Imbalence" meaning that the Persons brain has been enticed by his or her experiences and/or ( I always wanted to use and/or in a sentence :) learned beliefs to release certain chemicals that are not "wrong" but simply a recipe for "Different" behavior That is acceptable in society. Now before i sign offf.. Consider what evil is? and i suggest that We as humans have sectioned off parts of Evil and Used it to get to where we are... Greed , Murder, deceit , and Of course The Ego of man on this planet matches that of only the Fallen one who dared suggest that his way was better then Gods, who i point out had an equally inflated ego so compromise was lost and banishmment of the threat to the heavens was the only reasonable way to go.

once again (as i always do lol) i have strayed from the topic...
in short there is no evil or good , its simply how one reacts to the pressures society places on them and how this reaction is viewed by society.

Answer 5

Of course you cannot be born evil. Maybe some people are born with chemical inbalances that make them more unfeeling or less emotional, but that does not make them evil, by any means. A person can only learn to be hostile towards humanity, or "evil", through conditioning during childhood that would make them want to harm others.

Answer 6

There is no logical way that anyone could be evil from the point of birth. All infants are self-centered, by necessity of survival. This is natural, and if reinforced as a "positive" mode of existence, can lead to evil acts; but that self-centeredness does not necessitate evil acts. Such things are products of our relations with other people and interactions with our environment, not some backwater concept of original sin.

Answer 7

The mere ability to act out against others in the ways you describe and infer make all humans inherently evil...to 'be evil' is human, but to 'act evil' or force our 'dark' sides onto others through our actions is purely a matter of self-control and respect for others, which is largely influenced by our environment and the examples that we grow up around...not to say that this excuses people from their lack of restraint, or to say that ALL people who do bad things must have been tainted by their childhood homelife or some such nonsense, but that is my best attempt to generally answer your question...

Answer 8

Yes, some people are born evil. Recidivist violent behavior, whereby sexual arousal results from inflicting physical and psychical harm on others, is biologically based and is not at all dependent on the environment. An environment might provide the opportunities to act out such behavior, but behavior itself is basically innate.

Answer 9

I believe that one becomes evil-natured based on their perception of others. If you grow up in an environment(partiularly the family environment) you are taught to feel a certain way about others. Then you move on to form your on opinions based on facts as well as what you've been told. It's not uncommon to feel a sort of resentment towards others. You're not "evil" for wishing harmful things to others. Most of a human's "evilness" comes from impulsive emotions at certain times in certain situations. I wish harmful things on others, though I do not consider myself "evil".
To put it simply, you are what you feel.

Answer 10

Some people are born evil, some learn it.
Statistics with an organic system basically
means that anyway someone could be, eventually
someone will be.