Skrevet av Dave, 15.10.2024 at 22:40
This is something that has been rolling around in the back of my mind for a while....
There seem to be two competing schools of thought on this. One is that "people are basically good", but sometimes resort to doing bad things because of their conditions/environment/failings of society/etc. ...
The other school of thought is that people are basically bad, but can choose to do good. ...
My personal take on it is that people are inherently... selfish. ...
All that being said -- if people are generally selfish (or on the spectrum of being "bad", if you will), why isn't the world an even more horrible place than it already is?
So there we have 2 competing forces -- one the desire to get whatever we want regardless of who's expense at which it comes, but at the same time the desire to be liked or thought well of by others, which restrains us a bit.
Am I on the right track here, or am I missing something?
TLDR:
The vast majority of us are mostly bad... but we're trying to get better.
More detailed response:
I think about these things often as well. Bottom line is, people will have their own views based on their experiences, so what makes sense to one person might be counter intuitive to someone else.
My ideas have changed over the years, so presently, my experience is this:
People are at different stages of growth. We all come into this world with different levels of 'virtue/goodness' (service to others) and 'badness' (service to self - i.e. selfishness) and the majority of us are 'Rank 1s and 2s' but there are a handful of Rank 15's (your Ghandi or Martin Luther King).
The 'goal' is to evolve... to move from selfishness to virtue, but there are so many variables at play, it's difficult to know what might make one person evolve, while another one devolves.
For instance, you could come into this world with a high level of virtue, but you may experience some things early on, like death of a parent, abuse by an aunt or uncle, poverty or what have you. It could crush you, and at some point, your survival instincts might kick in, and you become more self-focused, and 'level down'. However, those experiences might be overcome, and you come out stronger and more compassionate in the end, leading a life of helping others who experience similar tragedy (perhaps a counselor or therapist), leading to a 'level up'.
Alternatively, you could come in with low level of virtue, and those same experiences could turn you into a serial killer (the vast majority of documented serial killers had serious neglect or abuse from one of their parents). This would be a level down. But perhaps you have an insight, and vow never to do the same things your abusive parents did to you, and you keep your promise to yourself and never abuse your own children. This would be a level up, from Rank 1 to Rank 2.
Your choices are what lead to the leveling up or leveling down. Choice is free will being exercised, and it is the vehicle by which you evolve or devolve.
Some of us can look back at who we were 10 years ago, and clearly see that evolution in our virtue has evolved (or devolved.)
And some of us can look back and see we're much the same person. (I observe this a lot more with people who were 'cool' or 'popular' in high school.)
So yes, environment plays a role, but we all know people who have experienced similar environments, yet the choices they make (and choosing one's attitude is also a choice) lead to tremendous differences in outcomes. So it's not simply 'environment' or 'genetics'.
Just my 2 cents... adjusted for inflations that's like an eighth of a cent.
♥