Do you believe people ultimately want to do bad?

Question

I have seen many questions asking why atheists don't commit crimes without the "guidance" of God. I believe most of these questioners make the mistake of believing people are only in it for themselves. However, our most basic instinct is to continue the species. Secondary to that is to protect ourselves. Given these ideas, is it easier to see how people would choose to do good? Do you think that people prefer to do bad things? If so, why? If your belief was based on something like the ego, does the new understanding above help resolve this belief?

Basically, why would people think that humans generally prefer to do "bad" things and does the understanding above of our base instincts help you understand how our desire for community and togetherness help keep us from committing hurtful actions?

Inspired by:
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AlC6i76RwboBLZb27PZdWVHsy6IX?qid=20070312063136AAfqx1L&show=7#profile-info-0f6a1cdae0a3ce3617b1109a091741bdaa

Answer 1

I think we all want to do good. I believe that all people battle with "inner demons". that battle takes place not because they want to do bad. It takes place because they want to do good. We wouldn't have to battle our "inner demons" if we were on the same team. Most people do what they want anyway. I believe with the selfish mindset our country is in now - if people wanted to do bad- there would be a lot more bad stuff going on.
Selfish people don't care what others think so why would they be good to appease someone else? They don't and they wouldn't.
To be selfish doesn't necessarily mean you do bad things. You just want to do what you want to do and when you want to do it. What you want to do may be a very positive thing. its relative.
Anyway- I must make a comment to GM-
I am ashamed. I hope you are joking. What a very judgmental thing to say on both accounts. That was a very stereotypical answer. Perhaps I took it too seriously and if so- I am sorry. But... not all Christians are good, and certainly not all atheists are bad or "felons".

Answer 2

Humans ultimately want what's best for themselves. We're selfish more than 'bad'. But of course a society doesn't work if everyone just looks out for themselves, so we have a social contract. Humans do have an instinct to do some things that would be considered bad, but if the only thing stopping someone from indulging that instinct is the fear of God, then they're the one without morals.

Answer 3

Actually, yes, I think everyone, even myself ultimately wants to do bad. Maybe it is just me. It also depends on what you consider bad. Years ago, if a movie had a bad word or other questionable things, it was not like now, that it is given an R rating, and 13 year olds are getting movie tickets. The moral standards of today are dirt low, so considering those standards, no one really wants to do bad, because worse than the standards is hard to get to. For the elderly though, the new generations only do bad. There is good and bad, and then there is everyones opinion of good and bad, but it doesnt change what ultimately is good and bad.

-Dominus-

P.S. I confused myself a bit in the last few statements with the good and bad etc. Read it over a few times until you understand what I am trying to say, or e-mail me.

Answer 4

Interesting. I feel like I'm reading legalese, but I'll give a stab at it. I think people don't really want to do bad things. People do bad things for a few different reasons, and I'd say the top two are
1) people are tempted and swayed to do bad things and we are a very curious group, so we are easily tempted
2) we want to be loved and accepted by other people and we do things that we think will bring attention, even if it's negative attention
There are more reasons I'm sure, but those seem to be the top two. We are not a bad group, but what we do a lot of the time is wrong, and the worst thing we do is we don't have any true remorse or regret for doing the wrong thing, and we don't ask God for repentance of our sins. God would forgive us if we just asked him for forgiveness and felt sincerely sorry. Also we should try not to keep repeating the same bad deeds over and over again. Humans aren't perfect, but they aren't evil. God said we were good, but we keep doing the wrong thing. I hope that helps, good question. God bless.

I like what momof2 had to say. I agree with the inner fight for good. I think the one thing I have trouble with is saying that doing what you want when you want can be a good thing. I think we should always give our best shot at what God wants us to do. If we do what we want to do, we will probably end up doing something wrong, because like I said, we are easily tempted. In the mean time, I did like your answer momof2, and you are right, not all Christians are good, not all of them are bad, and same thing for every other group of people. Thanks again for reading.

Answer 5

Humans are very complex creatures, so I'll begin by saying there is no definitive answer to the question.

My thoughts:

Firstly, I think it is safe to assume the bad that people do is because of either the environment or that person's mental state.

A psychopathic serial murderer obviously has a mental malfunction (sociopath), and the bank robber probably doesn't want to hold a real job (or enjoys bank robbery) - so he robs the bank...

It also depends on what you think "bad" is in the first place. In law, there are terms called "mala in se" which means inherently bad, such as murder, rape, and other obviously horrible crimes. Then there is "mala prohibitia", which means bad because the LAW says it is bad, such as doing heroin, cocaine, prostitution....

Now, you might think some mala prohibitia are mala in se, so you have a different opinion on what "bad" means.

Overall, I'd finish by reitterating my belief that it is the person or the environment and nothing "EVIL" (as in supernatural innate badness). Humans are complex and in most cases good beings, but just because there are some 'bad' people doesn't mean that there is "EVIL" in the world. I'd believe that they were environmentally misguided or innately dysfunctional.

Answer 6

We like to think that we are really good but many times our actions are anything but that. Look at the way we treat each other. The people that we hurt them most are family, then friends then strangers. We are kinder to strangers that we are to the people we claim to love the most. That is the hard cold fact.

We find ways of justifying our actions away but still we do hurt the ones we love the most.

But here is a good way to find some real answers.


Are you a good person? What a question, most of us believe that we are good people because we can look around and find someone that is far worse than we are. We can always point to the things that we think make us a good person.

But how good are we really? Dare we take this test and look at ourselves and see if we really are good? Hmmm.

If you are willing try this and see just how good a person you are.

The Good Person Test.

How will you do? Pass or fail?


Have you ever told a lie?
Doesn't matter how big or small, just a lie.
What does that make you? Before answering think about this, if I told you a lie what would you call me? A liar?

Have you ever stolen anything? Cost doesn't matter, a piece of gum, failed to give back an ink pen that you borrowed, anything.
What does that make you?

Jesus said, "You know the saying of old, you shall not commit adultery but I say that if look at someone to lust after them you have committed adultery in your heart.
Have you ever lusted?

Jesus said that hate is equal to murder.
Have you ever hated anyone?

See one day we all are going to stand before a Holy God on Judgment Day and he is going to judge us based on His Holy Law, the Ten Commandments. These are just 4 of them and how did you do? Guilty? I have broken all of these and more, what about you? How well will you do on Judgment Day?

If we break just one point of God's Law we are guilty of breaking all the law and Gods Wrath abides upon us all. Based on God's Law we are all guilty and all are deserving of punishment. But there is an out for us.

Jesus paid the price for each one of us, took on himself God's Wrath so we wouldn't have to face it on our own. Jesus was beaten, battered, bleed and died so we wouldn't have to face God's Wrath. He rose again so that we would life in his presence. Our crimes, His payment.

The real question is where will you stand on Judgment Day. Pay yourself or have it paid for you. Think about it.

Answer 7

I think human nature is for every human being to do what's in their own best interest, regardless of how it affects anyone else.

I think that somewhere along the line, human beings realized that it was in their collective best interest to agree to and adhere to a set of rules and guidelines.

When one makes a moral decision, those morals were formed by that person's prior and previous experiences.

People are naturally sinful (bad), I believe. But I'm trying to take all religious aspects of this discussion out of my answer. I hope I've sucessfully conveyed my opinion in this answer without resorting to religious terms.

Answer 8

I think the majority of people do want to be good. However I think a lot of people like to try and get away with something to see if they can. Like stealing for example some people will steal just to see if they can get away with it. Some people will steal because they really need something. I know a lot of teenagers will do bad things just because they are told they can't. A lot of people don't want to be told they can't do something. I think the majority of people though want to be good.

Answer 9

Hi. your quest didnt come across as very clear, but I will answer what i believe in my mind about people doing evil.
People who do evil make the mistake of thinking two things. 1. God doesn't exist.
2. He will not punish.
acc to me, there are 3 kinds of people.
ONE,GOOD PEOPLE
I think Good people, always do good. if ur good at heart, you will endeavour to do good, if at all you do something bad in anger (like saying smthng mean to sum 1 ) or in innocence or ignorance, you always feel bad afterwards.
TWO,BAD PEOPLE
Bad people, on the other hand, seldom turn towards good.its almost impossible to reform a negative person.
THREE,BORDERLINE CASES
Borderline cases can sometimes return to or convert to the "good gang"
I believe, THE WORLD CONSISTS OF GOOD AND BORDERLINE PEOPLE (who don't know what choices to make)MOSTLY.
In order to beat the bad people in their game AND TO OUTNUMBER THEM, the good people must CONVERT the borderline ones to make their "team" stronger. YES, ITS UPTO US....to make the world a better place!

Answer 10

Absolutely not.

One of the reasons I cannot abide Christianity is their assumption that all people are basically evil and need a violent and aggressive "father" to control them through fear.

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