»Is the nature of man good or evil?«

Is the nature of man good or evil?

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The nature of man is good

38%

[ 7 ]

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The nature of man is evil

27%

[ 5 ]

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Man has no nature

27%

[ 5 ]

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Don't know/Don't care

[ 1 ]

Number of users, who voted: 18
Number of counted votes: 18

Most Christians say the nature of man is sinful, and therefore, evil.

I have my own thoughts, but I'd like to hear your opinions on this question first. Smile

posted by nocturnal_anonymous

in-my-opinion.org -> Religion and Mysteries, from worship to werewolves -> Religious & Philosophical Topics -> Is the nature of man good or evil?

hmm, i would say evil, as being brought up in a christian background, duh. a famous example would be: "you don't have to teach a child to lie and he will do it. but you have to teach the child how to do good. " but then again, we all have a conscience to help counter that. so maybe we were born perfectly in the middle, and our upbringing dictates the nature we act.

posted by sangu

Nature vs Nuture v.7.6

Xians like to look at our dark side as being from Satan and our fallen status.

I like to tie in our evolutionary past to our behavior. It's less self-hating.
i.e. Our brains have devloped over the eons from basic reptilian to primate to human... And those aspects remain w/ us. That haven't disappeared. Thus we have strong reactionary instincts, and violence in us. We also have the capacity for compassion and self-sacrifice. I think some people have brain wiring that shifts off-center of the "normal" brain schematic. So the question remains though as to what that "normal" setup is like. Is there more compassion or more survival instinct in it? Lower brain function helps keep us alive/surviving but higher brain function helps us temper the beast within and ponder the world rather than just exist within it.

posted by volonteshiva

Choices

Having to choose between the two I would go with evil.
Good and Evil are two extremes, doesn't the nature of man seem to gravitate towards evil far more than good? Morals and Evolution are probably the main factors here.

Sangu:

so maybe we were born perfectly in the middle, and our upbringing dictates the nature we act.

Yeah maybe we are born neutral

posted by zesja

sangu:

a famous example would be: "you don't have to teach a child to lie and he will do it.

ya small children lie but do they do it without prior knowledge of lying?

even if a child is unable to speak it is fallowing everything the parents and other adults do around it so it could quite possibly learn to lie by example

i have no idea if there is any proof of this phenomena but it would deffinantly be helpful to the convo if there was

posted by The ONEder Man

I know where you live. I will send a rape commando -- knn

A theses on the nature of man - by me :)

Hmm...seeing that there's quick feedback, I'll post a theses on the nature of man I had in mind:

The nature of man is good. Selfishness and greediness is a byproduct of the struggle for survival and insecurity.

Thoughts?

posted by nocturnal_anonymous

Is man good or evil

And God spoke to me " Do Not Fall Into The Way Of Man"

posted by Brightlightspathfinder

But that's merely evading the statement

nocturnal_anonymous:

The nature of man is good. Selfishness and greediness is a byproduct of the struggle for survival and insecurity.

So why does one get selfish if one is good?

posted by knn

The ONEder Man:

ya small children lie but do they do it without prior knowledge of lying?

i would think they do it as defense. a natural instinct to defend themselves...so they lie. of course, copying parents is another way.

posted by sangu

hmm, seems i cant put a title. oh well.

knn:

So why does one get selfish if one is good?

NA can get back to you on this one, but for me, i think (if u follow NA's theses), its an evolution. man starts out good, but the circumstances force him to alter his nature in order to survive.

posted by sangu

sangu:

man starts out good, but the circumstances force him to alter his nature in order to survive.

so the world is bad and the good man must adapt? somehow i remember man being more evil then the world itself could ever be

posted by The ONEder Man

good and evil

Are we saying that good means to help one's fellow man, and evil means to harm one's fellow man?

posted by Tiefling

i could say the same thing too...

knn:

So why does one get selfish if one is good?

Well, then, why can one be good if one is evil?

posted by nocturnal_anonymous

Re: i could say the same thing too...

nocturnal_anonymous:

knn:

So why does one get selfish if one is good?

Well, then, why can one be good if one is evil?

People have the potential to be either... Some are wired to lean more to one side over the other. But each person has a darkness, a primal nature in them that can be brought out given the right set of circumstances. I think this is another gray issue that can't be fully generalized in black and white.

posted by volonteshiva

nature?

A person isn't just good or evil though. Nor is a person always swaying in the breeze, heading toward one moral pole or the other.

A man feeds the homeless and donates to charity. But, he has cheated on his wife. Is he good or evil?

posted by Tiefling

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