Do you believe that people can naturally be good or naturally be evil. WHY OR WHY NOT?

[Anonymous]

THERE IS NO RIGHT OR WRONG ANSWER‼️‼️‼️THIS IS SIMPLY A DISCUSSION IM CURIOUS

[ZackBan]

I belive moral inhibitions are taught and not innate.

We come out of the box hardwired with simple evolutionary directives:
Preserve ourselves.
Procreate.

Everything else we discover once we're here.

Good, evil, neutral, all these things are social constructs that change through time and space.
What is considered evil today is what counts as good tomorrow and vise versa.

I do, however, belive that some people are born with genetic dispositions that lead them into a destructive path.
Which is almost like saying "being born evil" but not quite.
This is just my theory but I think if a person's sense of self preservation is faulty they might be more inclined to bring harm onto themselves and others

[Asker]

I agree what's allowed and acceptable now what's deemed good or moral can easily be considered evil in another time or space.

[AngryCarl]

Tricky question! Good and evil aren't who you are, they're what you do. Sometimes a good person is just someone who considers the consequences of an evil act and decides not to do it. A person who does evil stuff might have occasional bad thoughts and little or no impulse control.

Have you ever thought: I could tamper with this guys brakes? Yeah, but that would be evil. And I might get in trouble.

[Asker]

Thats a different approach to this question. Good and evil isn't who you are but what you do. So if that's the case what you do is only considered evil or good if the acts are regarded as such during that particular time and space. Acts currently considered good can easily be considered the opposite in another time and space where the evil alternative is considered good.

[patois]

I think all people have a conscience that instinctively pulls on their heart strings when they face their own conduct. Even people that follow evil religions, show shame when they have to reflect on their own actions They will try to change the subject, explain it away, or they just lose their fucking shit in rage when confronted with their own evil, but they know it's wrong even if they practice it. That's why they get so emotionally stirred up over it. Some would call that the spirit. People know what is true. Even if they are willing and wanting to lie about it, deep down they know they are wrong. Many would argue that sociopaths and psychopaths can't feel shame or embarrassment, but I don't believe that. I think they are further from the spirit than others, often due to traumas, but it's still there in the back of their mind. If you want a case study on that, go look into David Wood. He was an atheist sociopath who wanted to in essence become his own god like most satanists. He felt that by transgressing against taught morality he was becoming more powerful I guess you could say. He ended up trying to kill his own father with a hammer you know like most patriarchy hating satanic commie losers and went to jail for 10 years. In prison people would talk about the Bible, so he studied the Bible because he wanted to disprove them and win arguments by playing the devils advocate so that he come dominate them and feel more powerful, only to learn the truth in the Bible and become religious and reconnect with his conscience. So even when someone is as far gone as you think they can be, they can still come back to being good.

[patois]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdLIX3vZGK8

[patois]

*could

[Asker]

So do you believe people can be naturally good or evil?

[patois]

Read it again.

[Purpleronnie]

It’s always an interesting question.. You could start with definitions of Good and Evil , sure the extremes are generallly perceived as obvious or black and white but there are still much grey in the middle.
I place some credence in the the nature / nurture argument where people aren’t born evil , , sure there may be genetic characteristics that scientific communities feel form a pre-disposition but it will be how that individual grows and develops psychologically that will form personality traits and character. Will they be exposed to trauma , how will they deal with that , who will influence them positively or negatively. Etc People may say for the likes of serial killers , rapists or paedophiles , they are just pure evil because of their actions , a person could simply not become so pathologically damaged to do these things but no , we are born with a clean slate and a blank canvas in my opinion.

[Kaneki05]

Humans are naturally selfish like any animal or plant, we do things for our own self thriving. Whether that makes us evil or good is up to you. But ultimately good or evil don't exist.
Morals that exist to help us preserve ourselves are not really good, just convenient.
Like we don't morally want murder because then what if I am murdered? So convenient for murder to be illegal right?

[Kaneki05]

Also doing things that one considers selfless is pretty much always actually selfish. Like if I help a person it made me feel good, therefore that in a way was still about myself. And helping people often leads to people then helping you.
So it's all a benefit for ourselves so not really that selfless.

[Asker]

"morals that exist to help us preserve ourselves are not really good, just convenient" I agree. Just like any law or rule it's just works for the time being but can easily be changed to support the alternative if the situation fits or is convenient.

[Asker]

I also agree with your comment about selflessness people do things with some sort of benefit in mind. And feeling good about yourself is a benefit. We think alike lol

[Kaneki05]

Then ya get it.
Critical thinkers know the truth of it. Most people like to live a fantasy and live in a world where they don't even want to acknowledge that we are just animals and that you can stem back all our actions to instinct.
But you know living in a fantasy is their choice shrugs.

[TheSpaceGnome]

You can naturally have poor comprehension skills, and that can lead you to doing stupid things.

Evil acts are just acts that are dumber than the person who knows better while also resulting in negative impacts.

If you have better comprehension skills you can understand what you learn well enough to make more beneficial choices.

So the answer is yes, you can naturally be good or evil. but its a gradiant for standards on what is or isn't stupid or smart. Because each generation is born into newer discoveries, and each individual will set standards based on their own comprehension skills, experiences, and personal preferences.

So there will likely always be someone saying you're making dumb/evil choices no matter how smart you are, and then someone even smarter to correct that person (or dumber to argue nonsense with them), and so on.

[Summeroflove]

Everyone has to make that choice for themselves. We all have good and evil inside of us. It depends on what we focus on and choose to act on. If you allow evil to fester inside of yourself eventually it will come out.

People love to make excuses for why they are the way they are

[Josh6854]

I think humans are born loving creatures, we are suppose to be stewards if the earth. But we grow up being taught hate and unkindness. It's up to us to know what path to take when we are old enough to make the choice but some don't strat from the evil they know. I remember a saying grandma use to say 'cause the child in the way that he or she should grow si when they are old they will not depart from it'. U can't teach or learn good but u can certainly teach or learn evil.

[Dongie]

Why do you think good can't be taught Josh?

[Josh6854]

@Dongie because naturally we're all good natured that's how we were made. So that wouldn't be learning if it's in our nature.

[Dongie]

Gotcha' 👍

[Asker]

Isn't goodness taught though. Aren't we coached as to what we should and shouldn't do.

[Dongie]

Yes, that's my reasoning. I remember hearing my mother say that kids are the meanest things on earth. Like abusing little animals and each other. At 7, I thought it would be cool to swing a cat around by its tail. Never tried that again. The cat ripped my arm up.

[dreamstar72]

Sure a lot of people can be both good and evil.
For an example;
They are naturally good when they are in need of something.
Then they turn on you and become evil after they get what they need.
Their excuse is they are have identity problems or issues.

[Dongie]

That's the question. I've seen very young and mean kids grow into good people and vice versa. But I do think there are some born with evil coursing through their veins passed on through ever worsening generations. Same for good. Sum it up, the rest had fairly good a bit of bad that gets controlled by upbringing and their unique spirit. Freewill.

[elaphe]

There are some people who have antisocial traits from a very young age. These include a lack of empathy for others, manipulative behavior, and enjoyment of pain inflicted on others. In these cases, "evil" is almost certainly biologically based. In other cases, it is probably a combination of biological and psychosocial factors.

[genericname85]

i think people do have certain predispositions that makes them lean a certain way. But what you turn out to be is still 100% a matter of upbringing. cause everyone has the potential for good or evil in them.

[skidawgkc22]

Yes, we are all capable of doing both good and evil. It's the choices we make individually that determine which way we go.

[BoopBoopBeep]

Yeah I've met some pretty evil people. Thankfully a great many of them aren't around any longer, but there's still tons out there.

[wiltingrosepetal]

No. People can naturally develop the traits of a sociopath, but whether they act on that, determines their morals

[lmkimcurious]

I think we’re naturally evil. You don’t have to teach anyone how to lie, cheat or steal. You do need to teach respect and kindness.

[worldscolide]

I think it's programmed, either by life experience, or by parental influence. I don't think anyone is born evil or good.

[Kimberly1979]

Naturally good for most part I believe the not so good is taught and some maybe genetic.

[Staximus]

I think very few are, and most are a product of their environment

[VV3ZZY123]

I think it's how the parents raised them, but also life circumstances and brain issues.

[diversethought]

We were created good at birth, but our desires led us down roads uncertain by the choices we make.

[Kingofkings1992]

Yes. No one is all good, and no one is all evil. Every human has a percentage of both.