Human Nature

[L-PinkVsD-Pink327 177]

I personnaly believe the biggest problems caused by humans is our desire to fight. We want to go against anyone or thing to prove we're better than whatever it is we're against. Some people are able to keep this urge down more than others, but then we're just resisting that since we think we're higher than it.

 

That's about as far as I get every time I talk to myself about something of the like.

 

Well forget what I just said, Evilshy said it better than I ever could.

Edited February 4, 2012 by UltravioletvsInfrared327

[Yellow Diamond 7,561]

One thing I've never understood about many Christian ideas: if humans are inherently good, why are the seven deadly sins, formexample, all natural feelings to us?

I'm not trying to shoot you down, I'm genuinely curious.

I think this is built partially on a misunderstanding of the Christian notion of sin and human nature. For the Christian, humans are made in the likeness of God; in the purest sense, the human being is "good" since all things generated by God are good and whole. The distortion is a product of Original Sin, which hinders human nature rather than enhances it, impacting the whole of creation as a result (cf. Rom 8:22-3). As the prologue of the Gospel of St. John indicates, all things come through him (God and, by virtue of their consubstantial nature, Christ, the Word incarnate), and without him nothing came into existence (cf. Jn 1:3). Sin is not a product of God but, as St. Augustine argues, the absence of God. This does not, however, undermine the dominion of God; it instead describes attempting to act apart from God. So, analogously, you may ignore your parents, whose actions do not lead you astray, but they remain your parents.

 

Therefore, the seven deadly sins--or any sin, for that matter---are not natural in that they are a product of a disruption in our nature. Perhaps they feel natural, but they are inherently disordered. If Jesus Christ is the apex of humanity---the "new Adam," as St. Paul and the early Church fathers describe him---then that which we see is contrary to Christ is, in essence, contrary to the fullness of human nature.

[Luurilka 325]

People, from evolution, do whatever gets their genes as common as possible, regardless of what is good or bad. But, people naturally will love and care for their family since they have the similar genes as themselves. People usually don't harm others because of fear of getting punished. Essentially, most people don't have any real morals, they just do whatever it takes to survive, which often means caring about others.

I would consider myself a realist. I hope nopony is bothered by the vagueness of this post, I just don't feel like writing out all of my thoughts.

[Eenohay 318]

No such thing as good or evil, no such thing as human nature, just a higher thinking capacity, wich leads to high adaptability.

 

Human raised by wolves will act like a wolf, but is perfectly capable of acting like a human if taught how to.

[EldarSteve 119]

There is no one nature that can define humans, we are all unique in our own ways. Every brain sees and responds to the world in their own way and those things it sees shapes it over time. no one life is the same.

[Ezynell 2,036]

Well I took this: Quiz - Pessimist, optimist or realist? - YouThink.com test, and I am a

 

Realist.

 

Same, I love these little quizzes :3

[Ninja Derpy 343]

Same, I love these little quizzes :3

 

Nice!

[Kapi 213]

I think it depends on the person. I think all humans are born neutral, then depending on how they grow up, they either become good or bad

 

If a person is brought up to be honest and polite, then they can be seen as a good person. When someone is brought up around murder and drugs, they are considered to be bad. Do I see satanists as bad people? Not at all. Do I see Christians as good people? Not at all. We're all different and are brought up believeing different things.

 

Me? I'm an optimist. I always try to look at the bright side of things. Even if everything is going wrong, I still look at it as "It could be worse." Even if I'm having the crappiest day possible, if a customer comes up to me asking for help, I always respond with a smile. Its not retail, its who I am. Even when someone passes away, I try to remain happy. Why be sad? Celebrate the life they lived, and make them happy.

Edited February 5, 2012 by Kapi

[cuteycindyhoney 13,283]

Here we discuss the nature of people. Do you believe humans are inherently good or bad, and why? Or do you think something entirely different? Is everything circumstantial? Are you an optimist, pessimist, or realist?

 

To start the discussion, I think part of what separates humans from the rest of the animal kingdom is our ability to empathize. We use this to "put ourselves in others' shoes," and this acts as a deterrent to what we consider "morally wrong" actions. People who lack the ability to do this (effectively or at all) wind up being sociopaths of varying degrees. Basically, we are all selfish to a point, but the location of that point depends on who you are. I consider myself to be a loose realist.

 

Discuss

 

 

Nope, it's thumbs!

[Splashee 28,537]

From what I know about humans, they are good at following patterns. If you tell them to buy all the toilet paper in the store, they will do so, even if it doesn't make any sense.

[Olly 1,008]

Humans are good in the sense that we need each other to thrive. Humans are the most competent species when it comes to survival, secondly to bacteria and microbes. We love to not only survive, but thrive too, on the individual level. But we need others of us to achieve anything better for ourselves, so we care about others as we care about ourselves. Sometimes that means we don't treat each other very nicely, but still obey rules and don't tear each other apart remorselessly like other animals would. 

[Dreambiscuit 8,024]

I think most people are inherently good. I don’t think there are all that many truly bad people, just malleable ones often duped into doing bad things by others who are too weak or shortsighted to control themselves, resist temptations, or take the more difficult road. Most people know by instinct the difference between right and wrong. Some good people are just weak, so rather than classifying them good or bad, it might be more suitable to say strong or weak. 

[Kyoshi Frost Wolf 40,284]

Humanity overall, to me, is petty. It is able to accomplish so much like going to the moon, sending snapshots from Mars with a machine, it can do all of that but it chooses to do things like deny healthcare to people because of their lack of wealth, start wars over nothing and continue to ruin the planet with a gleeful smile. Individuals in this species have the potential to be better than the overall masses, but individuals are often lost in the sea of ignorance.

[Rebel the Wolfgirl 5,585]

5 minutes ago, Kyoshi said:

Humanity overall, to me, is petty. It is able to accomplish so much like going to the moon, sending snapshots from Mars with a machine, it can do all of that but it chooses to do things like deny healthcare to people because of their lack of wealth, start wars over nothing and continue to ruin the planet with a gleeful smile. Individuals in this species have the potential to be better than the overall masses, but individuals are often lost in the sea of ignorance.

Exactly. Society is supposed to be built on individuals and ideas, but unfortunately a lot of ideas get buried, and the ones that do get recognized often do more harm than good in the long run.

[Prospekt 10,984]

I don't think people are inherently good nor evil. Your own experiences and culture are what lead you to develop patterns of behavior and attitudes that could be considered good or evil. I'd say your average person probably has aspects of both good and evil in their personality; we've all done things we aren't proud of, had some sort of selfish desire, told a lie, broken a rule, etc. But for most people, the bad doesn't overtake the good completely.

The problem is when the culture reinforces behaviors and attitudes that do more harm than good. Think of a person who was raised by racist parents so they grow up to be racist as well because that's what they consider "right." So if they go and commit some act of bigotry, I don't think that's a result of inherent evil by any stretch.