People Are Naturally Evil.. I Think So At Least…
I was conversing with a friend of mine earlier this week, and he asked me, "Do you think people are naturally evil?" Before even thinking, I told him "Yes." Now before you think I'm saying everyone is a product of Satan or something, or think I'm the largest pessimist there is, hear my logic first..
I start in that proverbial "sandbox" that we all allude to when talking about "blank" or "unbiased" children. Well, in that sandbox, you'll find raw human instinct and emotion, not driven by morals or values or anything else that must be taught.
If I take any 2 children in that sandbox and only have 1 toy between them, you'll see several different things. You'll see anger, possessiveness, might even see violence. By any morals and values that we've been taught, whether religious based or not, aren't those characteristics considered "evil" or not acceptable? If you were an adult in a work environment, and someone came up to you and took your keyboard off your desk, and you slapped the fire out of them, wouldn't you be thought of as "Hey, don't mess with him, that's the evil guy..." We're expected to "know better" right? Well the only reason we know better is because we're TAUGHT to know better, taught to coexist or ignore our natural "human" instincts. I placed quotes around human because there's no such thing in my mind as "human" instincts; that's an oxymoron. Instincts themselves are animalistic in nature. Instincts by definition are:
Instinct -An inborn pattern of behavior that is characteristic of a species and is often a response to specific environmental stimuli
So, by that definition, if we have to be TAUGHT to become good, then instinctually, or naturally, we're evil right? Can't be both.
The things that make us socially acceptible, able to coexist, and separate us as humans, are those morals and values. Or could it be simply fear of the reprecussions if we don't "play nice." If we aren't defined by our morals and values then we're just the same as animals. That's how we treat those social outcasts in our society, we throw them in cages just like animals in the zoo. We like to that we've effectively changed our chemical makeup or something or that we're "above" primative behavior. I personally think those same human emotions from the sandbox are still there, we're just taught to repress them and not act on our instincts. However, if you put any human in an environment where survival becomes the number one priority, impersonating or attuning ourselves to our animal instincts might be the only thing that can save our lives.
So, now that I've had a chance to think about the answer, "YES, I STILL think people are naturally "evil/animal", I just think we "play nice" so we're not socially repugnant."
What do you think?
February 17th, 2010 - 03:44
I don’t think people are born evil or good, because both are based on morals that we learn. I don’t think you can be considered good or evil until you learn a moral/religious system and learn what is right or wrong.
I also don’t think “anger, possessiveness, and …..violence” are necessarily evil. There are many verses in the Bible where God expresses his anger towards people, which usually end up in violent “natural acts of God” that kill many. I would not consider God evil. I would not consider a soldier an “evil” person b/c they kill, though many religions do.
I think evil is relative to your moral beliefs. A priest might consider a devil worshipper evil, but the feeling is probably mutual because they are morally opposite. But ultimately, if evil means being not morally good, it can’t exist until morals have been learned.
March 12th, 2010 - 19:48
Blk Panther!! I agree to a large degree, interestingly enough this is exactly what the Bible teaches us about the inbred inclination of mankind (who try to exist without the influence of their creator). For example:
(Genesis 6:5) “Consequently Jehovah saw that the badness of man was abundant in the earth and every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only bad all the time.”
- So as a result of Adam and Eve sin in the Garden of Eden, they decided to dismiss Gods directions, thus man’s heart leaned toward doing bad ‘all the time’
(Proverbs 28:26) “He that is trusting in his own heart is stupid, but he that is walking in wisdom is the one that will escape.”
- Really, we’re reminded in Gods Word to NOT trust our instincts/heart to some degree but to walk in wisdom, Godly Wisdom which has to be taught to us.
Many people have dismissed God’s Word and turned to Oprah, Dr. Phil, or in some cases even themselves to find these answers. I encourage you to keep thinking deeply, but try to turn peoples attention to the “Original” instruction Manual.
Regards,