Inherently good or iherently evil?

Question

Do you believe an individual is inherently good or inherenly evil, and what is your proof?

Please only answer if you have more to say than just 'good' or 'evil.' I am honestly interested in knowing why you think the way you do.

Because this is a "what do you think" question, I will not be choosing a best answer, even though there are some I like more than others. This really wasn't a question on who is right or wrong but why you have your beliefs. Thanx to all who gave their imput.

Answer 1

my answer is based on bible, so sorry if you think the bible's a fake.

but, the bible teaches that all people are inherently evil. i think the only good people do is solely out of the grace of god.

Answer 2

I think a person inherintly starts with the need to be self sustaining. If throughout childhood, societal and social pressures demonstrate to the individual that the best way to get on in life is to be absolutely self serving, then it is likely that they will turn out to be percievable as "evil", although evil is an entirely humanistic concept. If however during childhood an individual is shown that behaviour that benefits the "group" benefits themselves as well, then they will be more likely to be altuistic. Psuedo psychology, whatever..... Without religion you'd have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things, it takes religion to make good people do evil things.

Answer 3

Good and evil don't exist in reality, at least not outside of the mind that believes in them.

They are only judgments passed by the individual from their own unique perspective. What one person sees as bad or evil may seem to be the only logical thing to do from some other perspective. The ideas of both good and evil are point of view specific. This is why people like bush and bin laden are either loved or hated. Bush is seen as good by people who share his fear based thought system. Those who have a compassionate concern for all of mankind often see him as evil.

Bin laden is much the same. He is a villain in much of the western world, but he is somewhat of a celebrated pop star on the Middle East. There are T-shirt shops that sell items with his picture as though he was Jesus. It all depends on your point of view or perspective.

To sum it all up good is the name we give to people who do things that we think we like.

Evil is the name we give to people who do the things that we don’t like.

This is of course based solely on our particular point of view.

To sum it up I see all people as being inherently good, because they always do what seems like the best thing to do from their own particular point of view or perspective.

Love and blessings Don

Answer 4

This operates under the assumption that people all are good or all are bad. Clearly, this cannot be the case. A person capable of serial murder has allowed himself or herself to be a force of evil, however, a person who sacrifices his or her time and energy helping the less fortunate has allowed himself or herself to be a force of good.

Evolution shows that humanity has developed two primary social interaction characteristics: empathy and altruism. Empathy is that force that allows us to 'put ourselves in the other persons shoes', and altruism is the urge for self sacrifice to allow for the greater social good.

Some people seem to simply be born lacking one or the other of these. Without empathy, one is sociopathic, without altruism, one is psychopathic. Without either, one is completely devoid of any social comprehension at all.

Humanity is not inherently good or evil. However, the majority of persons do have healthy expressions of both empathy and altruism so the majority of humans are decent folk; not perfect, capable of being led to evil, but decent enough on their own rights. The few, however, are evil in their varying degrees, and without the necessary genetic tendancies for social order, are unsalvagable, for the basis of morality is denied them.

Answer 5

We are good because we are made in the image of God, that's
the God answer. In reality we are just little children who start out
good and then we meet life. After a lifetime of all manner of
experience some good others horrific we emerge battered, beaten and exhausted, but I think in the end we regret the bad
and wish it would have been better.

Answer 6

Neither. We are what we are. The conceptual beliefs in good and evil are learned. No one can tell me that a baby is evil, or that a baby is good. They are innocent and know nothing about the two.

Answer 7

People start out as babes not knowing evil they are the only true innocents.

Answer 8

Jehovah created us in his image. (Genesis 1:26-28) So we are made inherently good. But adam sinned and put a dint in our image. So we are inherently good, but sin can lead us to become evil.

Answer 9

I think we are born to be rebellious. Why else would a baby cry when he is born? He is uncomfortable, and angry and he lets us know it. Naturally.

If he weren't born rebellious, his reaction would be acceptance and contentment with his new surroundings.

And he would also strangle.

It is just one more example of how God takes the human sin condition and works around it for our benefit because of His great love for us.

Answer 10

I've met ppl that literally had no conscious and would say they were inherently evil