Is common man well-intentioned?

Question

Yes or no? Sometimes? Examples? You want ten points, don't you?

Answer 1

If by "well-intentioned" you mean, "do we have our own best interests at heart", then, probably YES. If you mean "do we care about others", then my answer would have to be: As long as it doesn't get in the way of our good intentions towards ourselves.

Cynical? Yeah, I'm getting that way!

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Answer 2

I think we all perceive ourselves as well-intentioned which of course isn't always the way others perceive us.

The well intentioned common Republican raves about President Bush's success' with the best of intentions and the common Democrat perceives this as misguided propaganda aimed at corrupting minds. The Democrat then posts in response an argument against the rave, also well intentioned in an attempt to buffer or dissuade anyone who might have been swayed towards that way of thinking.

Say the same thing substituting President Clinton and reversing the order of the Parties and you get the same result.
And neither one would agree the other was well intentioned in the least even though we know from out here observing, that they both were well intentioned in their own minds.

So I'll give mankind the benefit of the doubt and say yes, generally speaking, the common man is well-intentioned, in his own mind.

Answer 3

This question is so complex. Philosophers have lived and died trying to come up with a plausible response.

Off the cuff, I'd say a well-intentioned man is anything but common, especially in the U.S. That is not to say, however, that the common man does not possess the capacity or that no well-intentioned man resides in the U.S. My point is the capacity to behave in anything but a self-serving manner is not properly cultivated, particularly here. We are taught competition and greed.

So, because I do not believe that humans are born tabula rasa, perhaps I have answered the question in a manner quite different than I'd hoped: No. Man is not naturally well-intentioned. He must learn care and compassion, patience, empathy, and foresight. Not always an easy task, but certainly within the realm of possibility.

Answer 4

I think man is "intentioned." Well or not, seems to be an opinion of the beholder. My theory, is - all actions are selfish. The purpose is for the person doing the action to be happier. There are 3 basic ways to be happy. Internal, external and shared meaning. i.e. relationships. Ask a person why he donated to help the poor and he will tell you something like "I saw how much they were struggling and "I WANTED" to help. Selfishness that was well intended.
I personally believe there is great virtue in selfishness. Altruism (the desire to help others SOLEY for the benefit of others) is a learned perversity and may even be a basic denial that the helper is doing it for selfish reasons. When a person's selfishness benefits others or himself it can be called well intended. Also if it was intended to help others and didn't it could be called well intended. When a persons selfish actions hurt others or are intended to hurt others it can be deemed - not well intended. I will ask you to consider which has greater virtue: giving to the poor because it makes me happy, or giving to the poor and it not making me happy? Both are well intended.

Answer 5

Almost all the time we are well-intentioned toward those we consider "in-group".

The real question, then, is precisely who we consider part of our "group" (tribe, clan, people -- whatever you want to call it)and who we don't. For instance, is someone part of your "group" because he/she is family? Almost always. How about someone from the same town? The same country? The same religion? The same political party?

In general, the more we consider someone as belonging to our group, the nicer we are. This is why we invent vicious nicknames for those we fight wars against -- it is a way of disassociating ourselves in order to make killing them more morally acceptable.

Answer 6

I think he is predisposed to be so, but can sometimes get lost due to his environment.