People: good or evil
 

I get into this discussion alot with my friends and i wanted to know wat u all think. Do you think people are inherantly good or evil? i think that people are, for the most part, naturally evil. for instance, we are the only species that takes pleasure in, nay, thrives on the pain and humiliation of others *cough* Survivor *cough* also we are the only species that kills for power and pleasure. other species kill, but only because if they dont, they die. but thats just what i think.

Humans are inherently selfish. Because selfishness entails a great amount of evil in today's day and age, modern humanity is basically evil, I guess.

However, in more primitive times, people were much more dependant on other people to survive. In that time, random cruelty and standard acting like a jackass was probably less common seeing as other humans were more than resource draining competitors.
So it's possible that humans were more good than evil in the past.

Heres why I can't answer your question, by the way:
What is good and what is evil?
For the most part, I consider "good" to be what benefits life and humanity. Evil being the opposite of that. I also consider Biblical sins to be evil.

If you disagree with these notions, then my opinion is crap, and so is yours to me and the countless variations that may spring forth in such a broad subject as this.

It depends on what point of view you're taking it on. Most species think the human race is evil because they kill them for food and if you're a human you think "ah, who cares anyway" or "we're good cause we're the dominant species".

You can't really answer this in that good or evil is a state of mind or opinion. But if you ask me my own personal opinion going by my ideals I would say mankind is pretty evil. We are all evil to begin with and we strive to be good not the other way around. I'm also just going from mainly biblical ideas and actually the code chivalry believe it or not. That's where I get everything that I believe is good or evil.

Goodness is doing for others. Evilness is doing only for yourself. That's the root of evil I think. Everything can be pretty much taken from that concept.

The difference is, other species do not have the ability to think beyond simple tasks.

This relates to that other thread--you can't just classify things. I believe humans are inherently normal. They live by their instinct, or at least want to, but people won't let them. But I guess if you want to get nitty gritty, people are inherently good. They have the inclination to maintain a good life and maintain the good lives of others. Even 'hooligans' and 'punks' don't go around murdering people--they are still inherently good, regardless of religious influence or not.

I think people have the capacity to be evil, but I'm not talking 'soul-transforming-magicks-holy' whatever. I just mean everyone has the capacity to do 'good' or 'bad.' In fact, even the most 'evil' person can theoretically turn right around in a day. Thus, people change their 'alignment' every day. At work you might be 'evil' but at home you are 'good.'

Survey says: Humans are hot.

The terms good and evil are completely subjective, what one person thinks is evil another could consider good. I personally believe that good and evil can be summed up into two simple sentences...

Good believes that it has no right to take another's life.

Evil just doesn't care whether it has a right or not.

Using that definition, Humans for the most part are good. Using traditional definitions, humanity is quite evil.

I believe that humans are inheriently a blank slate, and through their growth their concepts of good and evil are molded.

Being 'good' I believe is much harder then being 'evil'. One has to strive to be 'good'.

Oh, that's right. All those peaceful animals who live in harmony and never kill for food or much of anything else. Like how my cat, for example, never sat on her runt kitten and killed it for no good reason that I can think of.

I bet the animals think that us killer humans, and every carnivorous species for that matter, are inherently evil. Also, the grass will preach of the cows and deer, one day, being cast into the fiery depths for heinous acts or desecration against the holy earth.

Looks like everybody else is giving the same answer. Good and Evil need justification. Otherwise people are good. Except for the fact that our society (Mine in America anyway) promotes evil! IMO

No way, man. I don't believe for a second that humans are inherently evil. I think evil is usually a consequence of circumstance. That is, the vast majority of those who we consider "evil" (in the harshest sense of the word) are usually raised in an environment that cultivates a lack of respect or deliberate disprespect for human life and feelings.

There are so many awesome, awesome people in this world. I'm consistently amazed at the beautiful and wonderful things humans do; music, poetry, art, theater... There are so many people who genuinely care about their fellows.

Really, I don't think there are many "evil" humans in this world. It's much too difficult to be evil. I think, if anything, some people are just selfish, petty, or ignorant. There are jerks who rag on the small guy, but love their family to death and would throw themselves in front of a bullet to save them.

If I had to come to anything approaching a conclusion, I would say that humans are born 'tabla rosa,' and can be influenced by surroundings, but are more likely to lean towards righteousness. Consider the facts: The vast majority of people are not killers, monsters, or The Devil.

The fact that humans have the capability of committing extraordinary acts of kindness or extraordinary acts of depravity suggests that humans are not inherently anything.

What evil does American society promote?

Since I feel this is almost identical to the "People and Personalities" thread, I'm just going to direct you guys to my post there. Make sure you respond in this thread, though.