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Scrat- 2017 年 9 月 2 日 上午 1:28
Are humans inherently good or evil?
"If man is left to his own notions and conduct, he would certainly turn out the most preposterous of human beings. The influence of prejudice, authority would stifle nature in him and substitute nothing.”

~ Jean-Jacques Rousseau [1712 - 1778]

Rousseau is well-known for his belief that man is born good, but corrupted by society. He claims that a man who is guided to nothing but his own nature will turn out as a pure, kind human being. His theory is not much his own. Mencius [372 - 289 BC] made the very famous claim that man is born fundamentally good. It's a topic often discussed when confronted by criminality, children, and parenthood.

His philosophy is famously challenged by Xun Zi [312 - 230 BC], who claimed that humans are born evil. He points out that desire lies in the core of humanity.
"A person is born with feelings of envy and hate. If he gives way to them, they will lead him to violence and crime, and any sense of loyalty and good faith will be abandoned."
He says that any good action is a conscious, deliberate activity. A person has to make effort to be good, a person 'fakes' to be good, so to say.

So what do you think? Are people born inherently good, or inherently evil? No answer can be right or wrong, just voice your opinion.
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目前顯示第 1-15 則留言,共 153
TTMXMP 2017 年 9 月 2 日 上午 1:35 
Good and evil are only concepts made by humans and what is consider good and bad change over time and cultures, just like the human race itself does. So humans are neither good nor evil, only humans imo.
- MrTT :cure:
Scrat- 2017 年 9 月 2 日 上午 1:38 
Good and evil are only concepts made by humans and what is consider good and bad change over time and cultures, just like the human race itself does. So humans are neither good nor evil, only humans imo.
- MrTT :cure:
Just because they're merely concepts, doesn't mean they're not very existant in our orientation. They're what we go by, what we judge people on. We might have different measurements and different perspective on what defines the actual 'good' and 'evil', but they're still a very present thing in our minds. That makes them not to be dismissed, wouldn't you say?
最後修改者:Scrat-; 2017 年 9 月 2 日 上午 1:38
Birdy.J 2017 年 9 月 2 日 上午 1:41 
You could consider going to church sometimes ; )
最後修改者:Birdy.J; 2017 年 9 月 2 日 上午 1:42
Denzel Washington 2017 年 9 月 2 日 上午 1:42 
Scientists has been found a genes responsible for high levels of rage and violence.
Scrat- 2017 年 9 月 2 日 上午 1:46 
引用自 Ann
Scientists has been found a genes responsible for high levels of rage and violence.
We also have genes responsible for us being compassionate, towards both animals and humans.
Gus the Crocodile 2017 年 9 月 2 日 上午 2:09 
There isn't, and will never be, a human being living in a society who is untouched by that society, so the question is useless as a means of interrogating the nature of real human beings, or improving society, or basically anything else of note. Unsurprisingly, that will tend to be the case in questions that insist on eliminating nuance in favour of extremes.

A person who hasn't been influenced by society wouldn't even have language. Wanting to sit in judgement of such a person, to label them "good" or "evil" based on standards that have had no relevance to their development, would to me only speak of arrogance on the part of the 'judge'.
Cassidy 2017 年 9 月 2 日 上午 2:10 
If you observe the behavior of very young children, you will know that they are very self-centered. But when they see another person is in distress, the older children try to help while the younger ones start crying. This tells me that humans are inherently good. It is the circumstances of life that makes them not-good.
Scrat- 2017 年 9 月 2 日 上午 2:12 
引用自 Gus the Crocodile
There isn't, and will never be, a human being living in a society who is untouched by that society, so the question is useless as a means of interrogating the nature of real human beings, or improving society, or basically anything else of note. Unsurprisingly, that will tend to be the case in questions that insist on eliminating nuance in favour of extremes.

A person who hasn't been influenced by society wouldn't even have language. Wanting to sit in judgement of such a person, to label them "good" or "evil" based on standards that have had no relevance to their development, would to me only speak of arrogance on the part of the 'judge'.
You talk as if judgement can only be passed on those who can only vocally express themselves. Humans can express good and evil behaviour, like stealing/murdering and helping/caring, without ever having to speak a word. It's the behaviour and inherent desires that can be judged.
Radene 2017 年 9 月 2 日 上午 2:16 
Neither, really. Humans can't exist as independent individuals and still function in a way that anyone would consider "human". On the other hand, the society isn't some sort of a force of nature that does things "to" someone.

引用自 Scrat-
You talk as if judgement can only be passed on those who can only vocally express themselves. Humans can express good and evil behaviour, like stealing/murdering and helping/caring, without ever having to speak a word. It's the behaviour and inherent desires that can be judged.

"Language" is more than words.
最後修改者:Radene; 2017 年 9 月 2 日 上午 2:17
Gus the Crocodile 2017 年 9 月 2 日 上午 2:16 
引用自 Scrat-
You talk as if judgement can only be passed on those who can only vocally express themselves. Humans can express good and evil behaviour, like stealing/murdering and helping/caring, without ever having to speak a word. It's the behaviour and inherent desires that can be judged.
You cannot steal, murder, help or care about another if you are not in a community of some sort, however small. And if you're in a community you are not untouched by society, and are thus not an example of the "pure" human being being discussed here.
Scrat- 2017 年 9 月 2 日 上午 2:21 
引用自 Gus the Crocodile
引用自 Scrat-
You talk as if judgement can only be passed on those who can only vocally express themselves. Humans can express good and evil behaviour, like stealing/murdering and helping/caring, without ever having to speak a word. It's the behaviour and inherent desires that can be judged.
You cannot steal, murder, help or care about another if you are not in a community of some sort, however small. And if you're in a community you are not untouched by society, and are thus not an example of the "pure" human being being discussed here.
Couldn't be further from the truth. A person alone in the woods never having been in a community could kill for fun, could help animals in need, could show care or violence. There is no specific need for either a community or society in order to show such behaviour. But that's not really what we're touching upon. Rousseau believes that if a person is completely untouched by society while growing up and then introduced to society, he/she would be display nothing but 'good' and 'desirable' behaviour.
Radene 2017 年 9 月 2 日 上午 2:24 
引用自 Scrat-
Couldn't be further from the truth. A person alone in the woods never having been in a community could kill for fun, could help animals in need, could show care or violence. There is no specific need for either a community or society in order to show such behaviour.

Animals have communities too. More rudimentary, maybe, but they, too, punish those who go out of line.; and by "going out of line" I of course mean endanger the ability for the community to survive. Sometimes it's as unfortunate as having been born an albino.
最後修改者:Radene; 2017 年 9 月 2 日 上午 2:25
C4Warr10r 2017 年 9 月 2 日 上午 2:28 
That depends on your view, and I take mine from the biological perspective, with a dash of religion.

Life begins with organic molecules eating other organic molecules through sheer chemistry. Positively and negatively charged particles move about until they create something that no longer abides by simple chemistry. It eats chemistry to make more of itself.

Blah, blah, blah, we eventually end up with the gene, a self-replicating molecule that can only exist by virtue of survival. Faced with other genes that have done the same thing, little ecosystems begin to develop, and you ultimately have higher forms of life.

People are the product of these genes. We're no better than them, no better than their nature. Genes are all about survival. If you can take over another gene, why not do it? If you can work with another, why not do it?

The billions of years it has taken for genes to evolve ensured more complex organisms. and the end result is us. The brain is just an advanced sensory organ, like an eye, but one that can predict possible future outcomes.

What makes people special is empathy, the ability to guess at what others think. That's our link to each other and our heritage. It came to be from pretty brutal means, ♥♥♥♥ Sapiens massacred our ancestors and/or interbred with them. If you're the only one that can tell Ogg, who invented the log, that you're going to satisfy his desires by watching over his family while he sleeps, and then murder him because you know he is unaware, only your children will live.

As a consequence, they will become more and more clever, and now you're looking at what we have today. People love drama, they love guessing at the motives of others, and you're here right now because you want to understand those motives.

Well, my friend, I'm here to deliver, out of pure self-interest and just a little love for a fellow human. Read Dawkins. Understand the Red Queen hypothesis. Make what you will of them.

I've already got my answer. and I found it in Christ. Redemption for the original sin we are all born into, just by desiring to make the world a better place with mercy in our hearts. We are already in God's world, what matters is what we make of it. We MAKE a better future by aspiring to God.

But I'm not here to convert, far from it. Christianity is here for you as a home, but you need not accept our beliefs to know what you already know. You want to know if humans are good or evil. Your desire is to create greater order. And most importantly, you ask if you are moral.

You are. Others would not ask the question. You are moral. You have chosen to question morality, and so you are on the path to morality. You have chosen to better yourself. Peace be with you,
Marco 2017 年 9 月 2 日 上午 2:31 
"Good" and "bad" are completely subjective concepts: what's good to you may be bad to me and vice versa. With the lack of a proper definition, it's impossible to answer your question. Even if there were unique definitions for those two words, Rousseau's scenario still wouldn't make any sense: how do you even imagine a world in which we're not shaped by society? The way our brain works, we're *bound* to get conditioned by the environment, it's part of the learning process. The only means to prevent that would be:
-living life completely alone from birth to death, avoiding any kind of conditioning (absurd scenario, as we NEED human contact at the very least in the early stages of life);
-being unable to learn, thus being stuck to crying and pooping ourseleves until we die of starvation.

That said, I don't think Xun is right either. By *my* definition of good and bad, most people are indeed selfish, hateful pri*ks, only a few have a genuine desire of seeing humanity living in peace and equality. But are humans born a**holes? Nah. They are weak, they seek for guidance and usually find it in "strong" men with stupid ideas.
最後修改者:Marco; 2017 年 9 月 2 日 上午 2:34
Radene 2017 年 9 月 2 日 上午 2:34 
引用自 Marco
"Good" and "bad" are completely subjective concepts: what's good to you may be bad to me and vice versa. With the lack of a proper definition, it's impossible to answer your question. Even if there were unique definitions for those two words, Rousseau's scenario still wouldn't make any sense: how do you even imagine a world in which we're not shaped by society? The way our brain works, we're *bound* to get conditioned by the environment, it's part of the learning process. The only means to prevent that would be:
-living life completely alone from birth to death, avoiding any kind of conditioning (absurd scenario, as we NEED human contact at the very least in the early stages of life);
-being unable to learn, thus being stuck to crying and pooping ourseleves until we die of starvation.

That said, I don't think Xun is right either. By *my* definition of good and bad, most people are indeed selfish, hateful pri*ks, only a few have a genuine desire of seeing humanity living in peace and equality. But are humans born a**holes? Nah.


Not "completely" subjective, as there, for better or worse, is a collective agreement on what is "good" and what is "bad". When dissected the "good" is what makes life easier, more convenient, and puts everyone at less of a risk, and "bad" is what makes life harder, less convenient, and puts everyone at higher risk.

Basically, people like not dying so anything that would bring one closer to death or increase the threat of death, is collectively considered "bad". And if we come to a situation where what's "good" for you is "bad" for the wider community, then the wider community will take steps to make it turn out "badly" for you, too, if you try it.
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張貼日期: 2017 年 9 月 2 日 上午 1:28
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