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Violence in modern society
Nature nurture debate aggression
Violence in modern society
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Throughout history many have posed the question: Are humans inherently good or evil? Whether you characterize it as evil or not, humans have definitely been drawn to violence and aggressive behavior. Many like to find the best in people but overall humans are selfish and only do what they need to do to survive. First off, people are only born with the instincts to get what they need to survive.When babies are born they cry to get what they need because they have no other way of getting what they need on their own. Some may say that every baby is born with a clean slope but that is not technically true. Studies have shown that babies will tend to side with the “bad guy” or be unhelpful if it meant they were being offered more than they would
By looking at good and evil in human nature in “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell, one can see that both good and evil is in everyone which is important because what makes us more good or evil is created through experiences.
Do you believe violence is rooted into human nature?
There are many different points of view about human behaviors. Through specific characters mentioned in Fahrenheit 451, “A Very Old Man Enormous Wings”, and “The Lottery”, individual attitudes are exaggerated to the point that their evil motivations behind their behaviors are obvious. Everyday humans attempt to attach the connotation of good to humanity, but it’s just because humans want to look past the fact that we are realistically not good. It is very difficult for us to reflect on our own behaviors. Even though people try to avoid admitting it, we always try to be the best in whatever we do. We naturally make our own survivals the best we can make it. Harming others knowingly and enjoying it is a hallmark of being evil. Good is not only
The lines that define good and evil are not written in black and white; these lines tend to blur into many shades of grey allowing good and evil to intermingle with each another in a single human being. Man is not inherently good or evil but they are born innocent without any values or sense of morality until people impart their philosophies of life to them. In the words of John Locke:
Through the progression of William Golding's Lord of the Flies and the article, “Are Humans Good or Evil” by Clancy Martin and Alan Strudler, a multitude of undeniable evidence is provided to prove that humans are in fact inherently wicked. In Lord of the Flies, a human being’s savage nature and primal instincts are effectively portrayed through the development of Jack, the lead hunter in a group that gets meat for the boys. Little Jack Merridew, who seems to be nothing but a naive and obnoxious chorister, becomes one of the most malicious and violent boys on the island. Jack's wilder side shows itself the most when he goes hunting. Making one his first kills brought such exhilaration, satisfaction, and pure bloodlust, that it drove him to insane limits,
For hundreds of years, psychologists have attempted to understand why toddlers selfishly refuse to share. Recently, many experts in the field agree that toddlers are incapable of sharing because of their lack of integral brain development. From birth through early childhood, a child can only recognize his own wants and needs. Around the time a child begins kindergarten, he starts to development his understanding of abstract concepts, such as empathy, and sympathy. However, some believe that humans never rid themselves of that original selfishness. In essence, humans are born selfish and hopefully become compassionate later on. The idea of a natural tendency towards selfishness
“In the long run, we shape our lives, and we shape ourselves. The process never ends until we die. And the choices we make are ultimately our own responsibility.” (Eleanor Roosevelt). This is just one of the infinite examples of how human nature has been explored by so many different people. Each and every human is born with the capability of making their own choices. The decisions that they will make in the future will determine how evil they are viewed by others. Although one’s nature and nurture do affect their life, it is their own free will that determines whether or not they are evil.
Human beings are the only creatures capable of evil. The human race harms one another and animals for fun and destroys the environment. The only thing evil can be specifically defined is that it is a human characteristic.
How exactly does the human brain work? Are humans evil by nature or are they good samaritans most, if not all, the time? As studies throughout history have shown, this is not the case. Humans are inherently evil because they are always seeking as much power as they can, revert to challenging authority and selfishness in times of peril, and become intimidated easily by “authority” figures egging them on, which is reflected in The Lord of the Flies by William Golding, as well as The Zimbardo Experiment conducted by Psychologist Phillip Zimbardo.
The play, Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, shows human nature to be greedy, self-involved and vengeful. Claudius is driven by his greed to commit murder. Polonius is always looking out for himself, currying favor at the expense of anyone in his way. Hamlet thinks only of vengeance from the moment he finds out about Claudius murdering his father. Human nature has been all of these things, but it has also evolved through the ages. We can be base and cruel, but we can also show great compassion and kindness.
It is notable to be aware that it is debateable whether humans are inherently good or evil, but generally humans are naturally good. Piggy the small, intellectual boy from the novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding and Juror 8 from the playwright “12 Angry Men” by Reginald Rose exhibit perfectly that all humans are good. Without a doubt, Piggy proves he is one of the most selfless people in the novel, operates for the good of others. He demonstrates that humans are inherently good because even though the others in that society didn’t agree with him, and even show hostility towards him, for instance, when Jack hits him and knocks his glasses off his face, he still does not show any intense aggression. His ideas and actions appear to benefit
Whether or not inhumanity causes a person to become evil, it been a debatable topic. Some may believe that the acts of inhumanity makes people stronger, but the acts of inhumanity have shown devastating impacts on its survivors. Inhumanity is an extreme cruelty and brutal behavior towards a group of people or person. One significant example of inhumanity is the Holocaust. The Holocaust was a time in history where great acts of inhumanity were committed towards Jews. Night illustrates the idea that inhumanity influences a person to develop change become evil. Inhumanity does cause people to become evil because the cruelty and insanity causes them to become an inconsiderate individual who lacks a sense of identity.
Most of us live our lives hoping to become the best, hoping to get further than most people can. But what most of us do not realize is that sometimes becoming the best, at what you are striving for can corrupt you, the fact that some of us do not have a restraint on the methods that we use to achieve that goal is what drives us to that set of mind of becoming corrupted. Sometimes our minds deceive us, thinking that by becoming, better we are doing good in this world, but in reality, we become what most people fear, which is corruption. I have done a lot of reading that point out that striving to become better corrupts people in many more than one way.
Are human beings born to be good? Or are we naturally born to be evil? A person’s nature or essence is a trait that is inherent and lasting in an individual. To be a good person is someone who thinks of others before themselves, shows kindness to one another, and makes good choices in life that can lead to a path of becoming a good moral person. To be a bad person rebels against something or someone thinking only of them and not caring about the consequences of their actions. Rousseau assumed, “that man is good by nature (as it is bequeathed to him), but good in a negative way: that is, he is not evil of his own accord and on purpose, but only in danger of being contaminated and corrupted by evil or inept guides and examples (Immanuel Kant 123).” In other words, the human is exposed to the depraved society by incompetent guardians or influences that is not of one’s free will in the view of the fact that it is passed on. My position is humans are not by nature evil. Instead, they are good but influenced by the environment and societies to act in evil ways to either harm others or themself.
There’s a saying that goes “Money is the root of all evil”. Most people believe that though I disagree with that. I believe that we as human beings are the root of all evil in this world. Every person has evil in them. Some just have more evil than others. Some can control their evil while others can’t. Every person has two sides to them. Just like a Cherokee Indian told his grandson. He said “My son the battle is between two ‘wolves’ inside us all. One is evil. It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego. The other is good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith”. While money is simply a piece of paper, that represents wealth and holds monetary value. Money is something we use to survive and also acquire the things that we want.