Ng, Raissa Steffie Y. 1D-MT
December 18, 2012 Human Nature: Good or Evil?
I. Summary Man was made equally. But as he grows, he gradually begins to become aware of his surroundings. As a man grows, his two natures gradually begin to show. One may be shown more than the other which explains why a man is good or evil. Man is basically evil. He becomes evil because of selfishness. If any two men desire the same thing but both of them cannot enjoy, they become enemies and in the end, they would destroy or subdue one another just for another’s gain. Also, man is evil because of quarrels. There are three reasons why people quarrel: competition, diffidence, and glory. People quarrel just to gain something. They want to either be known throughout the world that’s why they compete or they just want to gain something, like power or glory. Another reason for a man’s evilness is selfishness. All a man cares about is protecting himself and getting away as much as possible without getting caught by others. The bottom line is that a man only wants to gain something that’s why he has become evil. ev il. Man is basically good. When people are born, their parents would teach them on how to be compassionate. Men were born good and compassionate but life tends to corrupt the human spirit, making them evil. Despite all these, Mencius still believes that men are still good. When we look inward into our deepest nature, we can recapture our goodness. He says that if a child has fallen into a well, man’s first instinct is to save it. This is where our goodness comes from. Socrates also believes that there is no such thing as a person who does things wrong knowingly. He believes that humans may be weak by nature but they are not evil. They just tend to become
selfish when there is something gained from a situation. The bottom line is that man is born good but because of selfishness, his goodness may switch to evilness. The articles all have justified to the readers why a man is either good or evil or even neither. Men is evil because of selfishness that would eventually lead to quarrel and maybe even murder. But philosophers still believe that man is born naturally good. He just has to look deep into himself to realize that he is still good. Men are born good but their selfishness tends to make them evil because they think that something would be gained out of a situation.
II. Reaction According to the articles written, man can have two natures: one good and the other, evil. Both of them are completely opposites of each other. Man can be good because of doing good deeds for other people and even helping them. Man can also be bad because of jealousy and selfishness. He wants to have the things other people have that’s that’s why he tends to become evil. Some men may even resort to killing another person just for his gain. I believe that man is naturally born good but he can become evil because of one reason: selfishness. My answer to the question, “Is man good or evil?” would be either. According to the article by Nina Rosenstand, man is born good but life tends to corrupt the human spirit that causes people to become selfish. Jealousy also comes in the way of selfishness of a man. I believe in that. When we are born, we don’t know anything yet. We don’t even know the difference between good and evil. As we grow up, we tend to observe our surroundings and these would in turn influence our thinking and behavior. And as we grow up, we may also meet with situations that would cause our minds to think that we should do the thing that would help us gain something. For example, there are two best friends. One is much more richer than the
other. The rich friend has gotten everything he wanted but the poor friend, barely has money to feed for himself. Then, as time passes, the poor friend got jealous of the rich friend because he became selfish and also wants to have everything that his best friend has. His mind resorted to one thing: murdering his own best friend just for his own gain. He murdered his best friend just to have the things that his friend has. This is the part where a man becomes evil because of selfishness. Man may be good from the start but b ecause of his awareness of the surroundings, he became selfish and evil. Man is born good because when a man is born, he still doesn’t know the hap penings around him. As he grows, he begins to be aware of his surroundings. He begins to have his own independent thoughts and understandings about the world. He will even begin to witness evil deeds of other people that may influence his mind. He starts becoming b ecoming jealous of other people’s belongings. And lastly, he starts to become selfish about the things he has. These are the main reasons why a man becomes evil. He started out good but because of bad influences, he becomes evil.
