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Are Humans inherently Evil?

"Evil is a necessary and inevitable phase in the development of the human personality. It represents a step up from the innocence of nature and a necessary prelude to the achievement of virtue and wisdom. Sin results from the necessary and inevitable assertion of the individual against the universality of morality." (Hegel)

Interesting link is this.
 
Evil is perception. What's "evil" to one person might be very normal to another. For example I believe in justified killings. If somebody has wronged me to a certain degree, I have every right to end that person's life or put him/her in extreme pain. Allot of people would consider that evil. I call it justice and I was born this way...
 
Selflessness

Jaakui Pirinen said:
Humans are not evil, only completely selfish. Every decision and action a human performs roots in this selfishness. I guess all of it could be explained by evolution.
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I don't fully agree with this. Have you never in your life admitted of a selfless act, or known family or friends to engage in selflessness. Or at the very least to have heard in the news of people engaging in selfless acts...sometimes to the detriment of their own lives.

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

John 15:13

In the example given by John above, are we to infer a selfish act, or a selfless one?
 
^totally agree. (i was not familiar with this verse, but I like it a lot, sort of the epitome of christianity)

Some people are inherently evil, while others are not.

maybe this is the reason we are down here... to figure out how to be good and decent... or to fail.
 
i think being evil is relative

i think its a term provided by people who are powerless get what they want towards the force thats keeping it from them

so naturally humans are good and evil.

i also dont believe in selflessness,
you are still chosing the choice that you think will make you feel better in the long run, youll feel guilty if you dont give to those who need...

if they didnt die for their friend now, they would regret it and be miserable later... so they are saving themselves from an experience a period of hate because they think anything would be better than that period, including death.

in my opinion people that seem selfless just have a better understanding of whats to come and can appreciate delayed gratitude rather than imediate gratitude.
 
^^

I remember submitting an essay when I was 16 that expressed this common argument against selflessness.

I've grown up since then, and realise I was quite wrong on the issue. Experience, rather than theory has led me to this conclusion.

It is however a convincing argument.
 
because you probably experienced more diverse struggles and can relate to being powerless in different ways, therefore increasing your chances of feeling guilt because you are more aware of what it feels like to be in the others shoes.

so you are still choosing not to feel guilt

in a sense immaturity and evil can go hand in hand.
 
Pythagoras said:
^^

I've grown up since then, and realise I was quite wrong on the issue. Experience, rather than theory has led me to this conclusion.

It is however a convincing argument.
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^
love has the power to do the illogical. and you don't know it till it happens.
 
^in an instant.

"and then i saw her.!"
"and the i saw him.!"

and then the whole entire world changed.


whats that "New Country" song...
dont take the girl, take anything in the world... anything?!? woah...
ive seen what love/lust can take, and what it can leave is the most violent outbursts, self-loathing, wars and attempts at genocide.

even lighter sentences for homicide:
"crime of passion"


but then we have the chance to rebuild, with much greater strength;
as long as we are aware of our ill-logic from then on.


<3
hunk-a burnin love baby lol
 
I believe our primitive minds conceived of the idea of evil. But evil is really subjective to the viewer. Like time is relative to the observer. Evil is just another word for living. A lion eating a cow. Some might say the lion is evil. Or a teenager doing drugs, some might say he is evil or doing evil, but if that led him to a path of beterment for his mind, spirit and soul then its good. Evil is not inherent, it's just a really simple bad way of looking at human behavior without really studying the causes and effects. Basically evil is a judgement of an the moment of "now". Without looking at the whole of all moments that led to and from the moment judged evil. And at any given time the def of evil can drastically change. At one point certain religious sects were considered evil and anti establishment, now they are the establishment, and in my opinion evil. Can humans be jerks to each other. Yes. Are humans born with a need to be "evil" to each other. No, it takes alot to create a person to be truly evil. And evil people or so called ones can have moments of enlightenment.

For instance that evil serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer actually found G-d and was interested in finding forgiveness from Jesus.

If we loo at the def from classical theology we can say that true evil does not repent, it continually rebels against all that is holy and good.

To be truly evil one would need to seek to harm themselves and others and the universe without the slightest bit of guilt taking hold. In which case, humans cannot be inherently evil since most people are self serving which is good. Even if they go about it in an evil way.


I apologize if this seems confusing some evil smoke in the air has rearranged my neurons for a moment. But thats my opinion. And I'm probably wrong, cause as a human we all have some crazy notions on what is good, bad, awesome, and sexy.
 
(skipping prior replies (hey....I's high :P))

"Humans are inherently not. . ."

The good/evil analytic proves of dubious use, as it obscures many key tactical concerns in any social system which constructs this fiend of tactics, but also deliberation over what the ethical good is (often obscured entirely). In rhetorics, human nature often reasserts normative ideals in the face of groups trying to curtail such social spaces for a-social interests.

How about humans isnstead interrogate the linkages that structure our culture's conception of good and evil to a configuration more desirable?

Is that good? Not....it's one step down the Hegelian road of Spirit fully realizing itself.

May.....I'zzzz high. :P
ebola
(shouldn't have posted. :P)
 
MyDoorsAreOpen said:
I think every person's default is a base animal state of pure selfishness, where any harm inflicted upon another sentient being in the name of self-advancement is perfectly fine.
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Yes, it's funny... 'pure' selfishness is fine -- in fact, it's paradoxically unselfish.

Impure selfishness tainted with good intentions is what seems to get folks into trouble ;).

Essentially, the separate self wants to impose its worldview on the world, because to adapt itself to the world as it is (i.e. fully admit the world) would be to vanish as anything separate from that world.

Things turn out to be so damn simple... it's the acceptance aspect that isn't easy. There is neither any actual time, nor any actual distance/separation for a separate self to exist. Because "actual" time and separation are always aspects of the same mind that gives rise to the illusion of the self inhabiting them.
 
Are Humans inherently Evil?
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The answer is completely dependent upon the system of values by which you measure the "goodness" or virtue of humanity.

Terms like "good" and "evil" are always relative to a paradigm of values, which is simply a human perspective itself. Saying that humanity is evil is like saying, "I'm 4.2!" ... 4.2 feet tall? 4.2 kilometers below sea level? 4.2 lightyears from the nearest black hole? 4.2 minutes from death?

And, just like there is no God-given Holy System of Linear Measurement (e.g. British vs. Metric), there is no universal objective system of values that forever defines "Thou shalt" -- one could argue.
 
I do not believe evil exsists, it is an illusion. No one is evil regardless of what they do. It is often hard for people to see no one and no one is evil, but that is how I feel. There are certainly "perversions" that exsist, but they are part of the world, and while they are nothing to strive for, aren't evil. Everything as it is now is because of everything that has happened in the past, the good and the bad, you can't change the present by going back in time. I don't excuse "perversions", and shouldn't be tolerated in the present, but once they've past their effects have already been done. What's done is done, and everyone is forgivable. Don't know if this makes sense, but it is how I feel.
 
I haven't read through the thread, I simply wanted to add my two cents...

To think that humans even know the difference between good and evil in the first place is fallacy. We're simply unguided beings with the ability to reason and choose what feels good and what IS good. Sadly most of the time we choose to do what feels good.

One of my favorite views on this topic is actually from Friedrich Nietzsche, and that is where my view started. He basically believes we have no clue what is good or bad, that we simply look to spread through will of power...

"Anything which is a living and not a dying body... will have to be an incarnate will to power, it will strive to grow, spread, seize, become predominant - not from any morality or immorality but because it is living and because life simply is will to power... 'Exploitation'... belongs to the essence of what lives, as a basic organic function; it is a consequence of the will to power, which is after all the will to life."
 
Things can only be expressed in terms of their opposites. Humans are drawn to feeling. Anything.
 
synchrojet said:
Things can only be expressed in terms of their opposites. Humans are drawn to feeling. Anything.
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People don't see how they end up stuck with the opposite of what they want, every time.

How every time you seek freedom, you end up bound.

How every time you seek knowledge, you feel so ignorant.

How every time you seek contact with others, you're *so* stuck with yourself.

And how free you are in the absence of the opposite pole.

But you just aren't frickin' secure. You don't know where you stand.
 
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