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Sympathy is the strongest in human nature
Moral evil and natural evil
Sympathy is the strongest in human nature
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Whether or not humans are instinctively good or evil has been a much talked about debate for many years and is known as an unanswerable question. Determinists, such as Thomas Hobbs, have come to the conclusion that humans are naturally evil and it is within our basic instincts to be greedy, selfish and otherwise drawn to chaos. Hobbs states that “our true nature arises in times of strife and it is within us, when threatened, to self preserve.” I on the other hand disagree with this famous philosophers take on human nature. In this short essay, I will argue that human beings are born with the instinct to be good and to love one another, as well as to be loved. Contrary to what Thomas Hobbs believes, a chinese philosopher by the name of Mencius, shares my beliefs. Mencius is most famous for his claim that humans are naturally born good. That we are born with the instinct to love one another, and hurting another person is an act against human nature. Children are a prime example in this instance. From a young age, children love their parents unconditionally, even when a Mencius calls this the “heart-mind” concept. The idea of the “heart and mind” is the same as that of an auto response. Say a child is drowning in the neighbor's pool, the reaction would be to run out and save it, not for the sake of winning praise or reward, but to simply save the child’s life. This auto affective cognitive response to the child’s suffering is proof that sympathy appeals to the “heart-mind” concept. Saving a child from drowning leaves no opportunity to think about any form of consequence. Perhaps there is a large dog in the backyard of the neighbors house, or the mother of the child attacks you due to trespassing, or the guilt and sadness you could potentially feel for not being able to revive the child. There would be no time to consider oneself in this moment of panic, the good within us knows only to hurry and save the
Are humans naturally good or evil? This age-old question dates back to as early as the Chinese Dynasty and is still being argued to this day. Thomas Hobbes believed that all humans were born cruel, that they began cheating others to benefit themselves. Whereas, John Locke believes that humans are born good and pure, but become evil based on experiences and obstacles in life. In my opinion, all humans are born good and become cruel based on their experiences. I feel this way because when you look at a new born baby, they are seeing the world for the first time, and although they are screaming and crying, they are pure. They do not want to do anyone any harm, and you do not wish to cause them any harm. The same goes for young, growing children
On The Genealogy of Morals, Essay I refers to the second stage of human morality—the emergence of the concepts of "Good" and "Evil" as categories o...
It is the contention of this paper that humans are born neutral, and if we are raised to be good, we will mature into good human beings. Once the element of evil is introduced into our minds, through socialization and the media, we then have the potential to do bad things. As a person grows up, they are ideally taught to be good and to do good things, but it is possible that the concept of evil can be presented to us. When this happens, we subconsciously choose whether or not to accept this evil. This is where the theories of Thomas Hobbes and John Locke become interesting as both men differed in the way they believed human nature to be.
Is human nature fundamentally good or bad? Mengzi argues for the instinctive goodness of human nature; however, admits our inherent goodness must be encouraged through propriety.
Consequently, the actions of Adam and Eve have opened the doors for the two types of evil we see today, moral and natural. “Natural evil is the consequence of moral evil” (Elwell,...
Human nature is the most debated topic to date. Many people think that mankind is programmed to be evil; on the other hand people argue that it is naturally good. Nathaniel Hawthorne gave his argument with the novel, The Scarlet Letter. The Scarlet Letter showed that mankind is innately good by Chillingworth’s measures, Hester’s capitulates and Dimmesdale’s noble qualities.
...storing force. These different interpretations support the idea that humans and the universe fundamentally possess the same original nature, which is to give life. To further contest that the human nature is, deep inside, evil, Mencius suggests to examine a different situation – that of a child on the verge of falling into a well – and how one would respond to it. If anyone individual witnesses a child who is about to fall into a well, one cannot help a feeling of alarm and commiseration, and will impulsively urge to save the child. “This life-giving impulse reveals out deepest nature, even though it can be blocked and distorted in many ways before we can act on it”(Kalton 2010). This situation itself is sufficient to prove that human nature is essentially good. Mencius described this emotion of commiseration is described as ren – the core Confucian idea of goodness.
The following analysis deals with the nature and source of evil and whether, given our innate motives and moral obligation, we willingly choose to succumb to our desires or are slaves of our passion. From this argument, I intend to show that our human nature requires that we play into our desires in order to affirm our free will. This is not to say that our desires are necessarily evil, but quite the opposite. In some sense, whatever people actually want has some relative value to them, and that all wanted things contain some good. But given that there are so many such goods and a whole spectrum of varying arrangements among them, that there is no way we can conceive anything as embodying an overall good just because it is to some degree wanted by one or a group of persons. In this light, there arises conflict which can only be resolved by a priority system defined by a code, maybe of moral foundations, which allows us to analyze the complexities of human motivation. I do not intend to set down the boundaries of such a notion, nor do I want to answer whether it benefits one to lead a morally good life, but rather want to find out how the constructs of good and evil affect our freedom to choose.
“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.
Are we destined to do good or evil from the day we are born, or are we clay in the hands of society (determine it on our own.)? A question that has challenged the mind of man from the beginning of time. A man born with nothing to his name couldn’t have been perceived as not evil in Victorian society. A man is judged by how much society has corrupted him. Man is judged on a scale of evil not good, so it is impossible to be “perfect”.
A person's ability to develop is due to two factors, maturation and learning. Although maturation, or the biological development of genes, is important, it is the learning - the process through which we develop through our experiences, which make us who we are (Shaffer, 8). In pre-modern times, a child was not treated like they are today. The child was dressed like and worked along side adults, in hope that they would become them, yet more modern times the child's need to play and be treated differently than adults has become recognized. Along with these notions of pre-modern children and their developmental skills came the ideas of original sin and innate purity. These philosophical ideas about children were the views that children were either born "good" or "bad" and that these were the basis for what would come of their life.
Human nature, being created by God, is in itself good for “God has made all things exceedingly good” (VII, 18). The goodness in human nature is evident in the morals and beliefs of human beings. Despite the difference in culture, man has set for one another a standard of moral expectations. C. S. Lewis in Mere Chr...
...ing, it is safe to say that humans are not by nature evil but instead, they are good but easily influenced by the environment and society to act in evil way and do such evil things. You choose the road you want to take; either it’s the bad road or the good road. We are all born to live a life where we will be faced with good and evil things. We were not born to be an evil or bad person, but as you get older you make that choice. What do you want to be remembered as: the good or the bad person? Choose to be good over being bad because the rewards to your family, your friend, and yourself will always outweigh the bad.
For thousands of years humans have fought against each other claiming to be fighting for the common good. But what happens when the line between is blurred? There is no real black and white definition for good and evil. Humans have fought repeatedly throughout history for what they perceive to be righteous, killing anyone who stands in their ...
Alan Moore’s V for Vendetta, William Shakespeare’s Richard III, and John Garder’s Grendel _______ The topic of evil and from where it originates is one that cannot be proven through factual evidence, and so rather is a notion that exists only in the thoughts of each individual, allowing him or her to possess unique beliefs that affect the way he or she lives.