Are (were) we really born bad? Are we really naturally evil?

Question

No Christian answers please. I already know your standpoint on that and where you got it from etc....don't waste your finger muscles....

Kaliko, you're fine!
I just didn't want : yes we were born in original sin because of adam bla bla bla...as if there's some teen or adult in this world who hasn't heard the story before....

Answer 1

No... that's a lie designed to make you follow an imaginary god for forgiveness and give it's church your money.

Answer 2

A person born of good or evil? There is no preset definition of good or evil can be drawn, pretty similar to virtue. It is not a universal value, it changes as the person's background, culture, psyche, etc. differentiate.

But I do know that human is driving by self-interest, it is neither good or bad. It is what gives us the ambition to survive, to succeed. Here is a quick example how self-interest kicks in.

No doubt one person stranded on an island with sufficient resource can do something good/evil. But if you put two people on an island with enough resource for only one, that's where a person will start making decision based on self-interest. Its human nature for self preservation. If you add another person to the equation and enough resource for 2, no doubt you will start seeing deceive, betrayal, lies, and more. And that's where our society draws its moral standards from.

In conclusion, its not what we do or choose that will determine we are good or evil. Its self-interest which will drive us from making the choices. Sometimes the choices will be against the society's moral standard, but that does not give us the right to judge. After all, its self-interest that driven a person to take those action. Self-interest, its human nature.

Answer 3

Yes, and this is why:
We are born "naughty" A baby screams and cries for just about everything. Just think about a toddler and one of his favorite first words to his/her parents -- NO! I believe that being good has to be taught and doesn't come natural. Children, for instance, want their own way, push and shove if someone if in their space or if they think someone is going to take something from them. They aren't hardwired to share, agree, submit, etc. so it is up to the parents or caretakers to "guide them into goodness". Then, when they get older, they will hopefully make wise choices. But, even as good adults, I believe the majority will still have a tendency for "naughtiness". I don't care for the word evil or bad so I am using naughty (if you don't mind). And, I cheated, I am a christian. Hope I didn't offend.

Answer 4

No because good and evil are mere perceptions conceived by the individual human mind. Each of us views "good" and "evil" differently, illustrated by that fact that none of us believes the exact same things 100% to the person we're standing next to. In Hermetic thought it is said the universe is mental. Reality is never really truth because it is colored by our own individual perceptions of everything we individually interact with. So the idea that we're born bad and naturally evil come from the reality that a human's instinctive nature isn't necessarily conducive to a civilized society. Therefore we are encouraged to practice self-restraint (and control of our instinctive impulses) via the man-made laws of society, and the man-made laws of religion, which tell us our natural human instincts are "evil" and bad. When in fact instincts are built in survival mechanisms.

Answer 5

Sartre postulated in "The Existentialist Manifesto" that existence preceeds essence.

Examples in this thread so far seem to be confusing selfishness (or survival instinct, for that matter) with evil.

In the universe where I am Grand Exalted Poobah, concepts like "original sin" and "redemption" are known as "crazy people talk."

I believe that we are our deeds.

Answer 6

We are born neither good nor bad but with the potential for either. Good and bad are two sides of the same coin and most people have both or are both at various times in their lives. Some though, go to the far ends of the spectrum and are good like Ghandi or bad like Hitler.

Answer 7

People are not naturally good or evil. We are animals, with instincts and urges that, if left to themselves, would make us purely primal beings. Is a snake good or evil? Because it eats that " cute little mouse ", does that make it evil? Or is it good, keeping the rodent population under control, keeping widespread disease and plague at a minimum. Things are not good or evil inherently, they simply are what they are. It is perception that creates the illusion of good and evil.

Answer 8

If you don't want any Christian answers then the answer to your question is simple. No one that rejects the notion of an ultimate moral authority can even answer your question. For there will be no univeral moral standard to appeal to in order to determine what is evil and what is good. In short, evil and good is left up to the mind of the individual.

Answer 9

No I don't think so. I think there are some genetic mutations that cause sociopaths and serial killers, but for the most part most of us would function just fine and form societies that work without religion and without the majority being "bad".

Answer 10

Children are morally innocent, like a hungry predator. They want, they take, no guilt, no shame. It's when they realize that their parents aren't perfect, that they can be judged as good or bad by how they deal with that realization.

Answer 11

I don't think so, that is very illogical. Everyone has to start off with Tabula Rasa, how could we have sinned before? Humanity is not naturally evil, although we do have some vulnerabilites, that does not make us evil.