Are humans naturally evil or are they taught by society in general to be willing to do evil things?

Question

Parents tend to teach; some times it's OK to lie, hit etc.
Government, military, movies, & others teach or influence that you don't go against your group no matter what; there are times you should do things though you know they're wrong.

I know people R naturally evil; based on selfishness etc.; but, what society teaches or influences is the actual difference. Although evil, people can be taught to be good; but base on selfishness, survival, etc., we teach to be evil. So, whether naturally evil or not the direction is our choice as a society, and as individuals ofter maturity.

Placed as evil to see what we do with it!

What is evil; a concept brought by an emotion or consience? By nature, we would feel that taking someything from someone would be wrong. But, taking something from someone that has more than enough while others starve would not be wrong.

I feel the masses should be wiped out cause they're evil. Is that wrong? That's what the Creator is going to do!

Answer 1

We are born evil... Babies are selfish and need to learn how to share and think of others... Some people never learn to be good, and some people teach their kids to be bad, some parents teach their kids to be bad to get ahead in life (It's a dog eat dog world), and some kids are taught to be good, but they just don't give a damn.

I might sound crazy, but personally, I feel the only thing not evil are plants, because they use photosynthesis to produce their own food... They are the only living creatures that do not kill to survive (herbavores kill plants)... Well, some plants, like weeds, kill other plants, and then you got the Venus Fly Trap, but you know what I mean.

Answer 2

I believe that humans are born as individualists. Being individualist makes you selfish but thats not necessarily. Being selfish just means that you look out for yourself and you take every action/opportunity that will make you happier; "self indulge". The problem is that society is trying to teach you to be a "team player" and do everything in groups, specially in a Capitalist country which makes it worse. There is where problems come because it interferes with the human natural instinct.

You should read Thomas Hobbes. He talks about this. Also you can watch the movie Lord of the Flies. I hope my answer helped.

Answer 3

i don't think that there is evil in the world. i think all humans are born with the capacity to do great good as well as terrible harm, and then comes the question of nurture vs nature - and it really in an unanswerable question at the current time.

having said that, there is some belief that the current mapping of the human genome and other associated pursuits will eventually discover to what extent our path is pre-determined by chemistry.

evil is just a concept and nothing more. and no human is evil. all have the capacity to both help and harm. it just comes down to the choices we make, and the chemistry that mixes in our brains.

Answer 4

God recognizes that we are all works in progress. God does not judge us and does not take vengeance even on the evil. Each day the Sun rises on the on the good and the evil alike and we each have yet another opportunity to choose good. Little children in their innocence tend to do good and expect the same from others. We should act as children and God thus providing every opportunity for positive change. The reality is that greed, envy and misguided religious based intolerance makes that difficult. But why should God make it easy for us? The personal struggle to overcome the evils of the world is key to the process of enlightenment and if and when enlightenment is achieved we face the world as children do filled with optimism that in the end men will choose good and will choose God.

Answer 5

Evil is a denial...Yes a crowd and countless individual in denial...they deny that which they do not know and accept only what they know. That which they know is a tiny fragment of immesuarable Creation but still within Creation as an integral particle...People live in that particle not knowing that much more existing....Duality, right and wrong this is a name of this particle...In truth there is no evil unless mind make it so...You cannot wipe out a crowd it is a denial, thus another Evil.It has many faces....what ever you deny you attract...this is a law...Only way to accept it. In this movement youare not part of a crowd anymore, but it becomes integral part of you...which you may influence with kindness, compassion and love...Part is not you but part of a whole. Whole is you. That whole has very a little to do with its parts, but lives life freely, fearlessly, and joyfully with no judgment no matter what.

Answer 6

The way we teach our children and what morals we instill are huge reasons people are the way they are-like if you teach your child to grow up with hatred for others like the KKK does, then most likely they will possess the same hatred as their parents did-However anyone can overcome these types of issues that they grow up with I.E -I was beaten as a child from another source who was not a legal guardian or parent and even though this did happen I harbor no bad feeling for others because of it , and that took along time to get over, but I did it anyway-And BTW the "creator" is not going to wipe us out-we will most likely end up doing that on our own.

Answer 7

Evil is an illusion. There are usually better words to describe whatever you are talking about anyway, like "cruelty" for example.

It has been my experience that "good" actions are usually those which treat people as if they are not separate (like sharing), and "evil" actions are those that treat people as if they are separate from the actor (like robbing, hurting, or killing). Therefore, a person's moral compass seems to derive from his/her ability to empathize with others. Some have a natural talent for this, others need to be taught, and some are learning disabled.

Answer 8

I personally wouldn't read too much into the word evil, I believe mankind are little more than animals, highly intelligent animals but still animals. Over the centuries we have evolved and become more sophisticated and have longed for something higher,possibly spiritual but our primal instincts will always be there this is what you regard as evil? We will always strive to provide a better life for ourselves and those around us, we will always act in our own best interests, we will always try to protect what we have achieved in our lifes, but we can also show acts of compassion and sacrafice as other animals do to.

Answer 9

I don't know about the existence of "ultimate evil," but I do know a few people that are a total waste of sperm and egg. I think evil - like racisim - is passed on to children like a disease.

And, of course, things happen in people's lives that makes them bitter, sour, and generally hateful.

"Masses should be wiped out?"

Uh, ya. That is "wrong."

Answer 10

I once saw a television special about children who are evil. They had set up a camera in a house with a boy who was 6 years old and considered to be evil. I could not believe what I saw, he would literally try to kill his mother and baby sister at least once a day, they had to lock him in his room at night fearing that they would be killed in their sleep. In this case, it was not taught but I do believe that some parents bend to their children's bad behaviours and create little monsters.