Do you have faith in human nature?

Question

if a child grows up in an environment where he is taught to kill everyone he hates...can he think for himself and question his motivations?

...how easily are we influenced?

Answer 1

It is very unfortunate that some children are brought up in this type of environment. Once they learn a certain perspective on life... it is almost impossible to unlearn this type of thinking. BUT... I do believe that once maturity is reached that an individual can begin to think for themselves and question the truth.... The sad thing, is that many people just accept the world around us for what it is, and do not explore it for their own perspective.

Answer 2

We can only hope that one day this child is able to get away from those who are brain washing him into this kind of thinking. Sometimes when we get away from certain environments and are introduced to another, I think we begin to question many things and hopeful see that Hate is not always the answer and people are wrong. We are very easily influenced and at times can be sucked into believing things that are very scary and not healthy. Sometimes you have to get out there and see how others live and meet other people and experience things for yourself before it's too late. But some people have this mind set and it stays with them until they die.

Answer 3

He can think for himself but the question is, will he? Many people have a tendency to let others make decisions for them and take responsibility for those decisions. I think this is because when the chip hits the fan, they have someone else to blame for the outcome other than themselves. Our President is a perfect example. People complain and have been complaining about the war, which has been going on for how long now, and yet, when election time comes around, they put the same man in office and continue to complain about the crummy job he is doing. How smart is that? We have let our government take over and our so called democracy has turned into a pleutocracy. Like wet dishrags some of us lay around and just let things happen, like we are powerless and unaware. Zombies. Some of us don't even question other people's motivation or intentions, not to mention our own. I seem to recall the attrocities of Hitler. How long did THAT go on? How many individuals did "WE the people, in order to establish justice, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare," blah blah blah, LET die w/o doing anything about it b/c one man thought and convinced other spineless followers that there should be a pure race, and he and probably most or all of them, I'm guessing, weren't even of a pure race themselves. We can send a multitude of military to another country for naught, but we couldn't stop a few men from executing hundreds of thousands of people right in our own back yard. C'mon people, it's in writing, or does the Constitution not mean anything other than lies written on a piece of paper? It seems to be there for vanity purposes. Then one day I guess someone must have been hit over the head or something, coming to their common senses saying, "wait a minute, he can't actually do THIS!" No kidding. Yes that's it, kill everyone that not just like you. Hate them and dispose of them. That is the answer, obviously. NOT!

Yes, we have free will to make choices in life, but do we have sense enough to make the right ones, and with what intentions?

Answer 4

I think that we are very easily influenced by nature and nuture.

In past years, I had a lot more faith in human nature then I do these days. Is there anyone who is not addicted to something any more?

Answer 5

It's human nature to want to kill what we hate. Come to that, it's human nature to kill even what we do not necessarily hate. Humans are basically killers. Clearly we can't blame the urge to kill on nurture because quite a few redoubtable killers have come from very loving, gentle and caring backgrounds. Which leaves the urge to kill rooted in nature.

I'd be inclined to believe that killer is the default position for humans and that we have to be taught to resist the temptation. We accomplish with some measure of success only through the threat of institutionalised punishment and social conditioning. And what happens in America?

Yepperz

They demonstrate how wrong it is to kill what they hate by hating killers and killing them in cold blood.

Kind of mixed message there, eh?

Answer 6

I have very little faith in human nature, and I know it's because I've been influenced by the actions of others. People just need to stop being so retarded.

Answer 7

our thoughts always change by time.When we are child at that moment we couldn't understand the world and our parents taught us to face the world as they face the world .They gives us the example to do the rite or wrong thing after parents we have the friends we have the environment in which we taught about the wrong or rite things when we get matured when we start to learn from our own experiences at that moment we find the difference between wrong and write at that moment our circumstances taught us to live the life that's it .so its all depends upon our environment that how can we live the life and i think we change the people by giving the love by giving the understanding to the people.

Answer 8

I believe that who we are today is the sum of our existence from conception to this moment. Physiology influences the way we perceive and are perceived. Environment influences our physiology and perceptions. It's interactive. The degree to which environment shapes us depends on continuity over time and/or the deviation from the norm of one's prior existence (i.e. positive or negative shock value). So, I believe that different people are influenced differently. One child raised in the environment you describe may have the ability to seek another way of life. Another child raised in that environment may not.

Answer 9

I have total faith that human nature is to sin. But there is hope. Christ died for human's sin so they could be delivered.
While person's due tend to be motivated and behave based on what they learn, they also know in their heart what is right and what is wrong. Each person is responsible for their own actions when they become an adult.

Answer 10

I have a deep faith in ALL nature but less faith in human nature than any other.
When asked " What do you think of Western civilization?" Mahatma Gandhi responded;
" I think it would be a good idea".