The Nature of Humanity is Surprisingly Good
Recently, certain acts have been committed that have left people with the lingering question in their mind: Are humans naturally good or evil? As a whole, society may present itself as selfish and unwilling, but small individual acts of kindness have proven to make a difference on the overall view of human nature. In order to distinguish whether humans are naturally good or evil, a person must experience, themselves, the situations where genuine character is shown. When put in group situations, most will try to act cooperatively and make decisions based on what is best for the group as a whole. Humans may make the wrong decisions, but in most cases, people have good intentions. Studies have also …show more content…
People will have different ideas on what should be done and how something should be tackled, but when humans work together, cooperation takes place and a decision is made based on what is best for the group as a whole. In the novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding, Ralph tries to create order on the island so the boys could find a way to be rescued off of the island. He begins by cooperating with the group and announcing “All right who wants Jack for chief? ... Who wants me?” (Golding 19). Ralph represents the favorable nature of humanity which includes individuals who look to cooperate and think about the best option for all people. Studies have shown that “cooperation is …show more content…
(Scientific American). He believed that humans are naturally unselfish and moral, however the evils of society had made humans selfish. Most humans act selfishly without realizing it because most likely the intention is good. In the Milgram Experiment conducted by Stanley Milgram, humans were exposed as cruel and selfish, however many of the volunteers that participated in this experiment believed that the experiment was inhumane and immoral. Some participants refused to carry on with the experiment because they believed that the man who was receiving the shocks could have been shocked to death. When the facilitator of the experiment told the volunteers that they had no other choice than to continue, some individuals responded with, “Oh I have a lot of choices. My number one choice is that I wouldn’t go on if I thought he was being harmed” (Milgram Obedience Study). Most humans do not wish to harm others intentionally or willingly, because as humans we follow the Golden Rule, which is treat others the way any person would want to be treated, with
Recently, certain acts have been committed that have left people with the lingering question in their mind: Are humans naturally good or evil? As a whole, society may present itself as selfish and unwilling, but small individual acts of kindness have proven to make a difference on the overall view of human nature. In order to distinguish whether humans are naturally good or evil, a person must experience, themselves, the situations where genuine character is shown. When put in group situations, most will try to act cooperatively and make decisions based on what is best for the group as a whole. Humans may make the wrong decisions, but in most cases, people have good intentions. Studies have also …show more content…
People will have different ideas on what should be done and how something should be tackled, but when humans work together, cooperation takes place and a decision is made based on what is best for the group as a whole. In the novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding, Ralph tries to create order on the island so the boys could find a way to be rescued off of the island. He begins by cooperating with the group and announcing “All right who wants Jack for chief? ... Who wants me?” (Golding 19). Ralph represents the favorable nature of humanity which includes individuals who look to cooperate and think about the best option for all people. Studies have shown that “cooperation is …show more content…
(Scientific American). He believed that humans are naturally unselfish and moral, however the evils of society had made humans selfish. Most humans act selfishly without realizing it because most likely the intention is good. In the Milgram Experiment conducted by Stanley Milgram, humans were exposed as cruel and selfish, however many of the volunteers that participated in this experiment believed that the experiment was inhumane and immoral. Some participants refused to carry on with the experiment because they believed that the man who was receiving the shocks could have been shocked to death. When the facilitator of the experiment told the volunteers that they had no other choice than to continue, some individuals responded with, “Oh I have a lot of choices. My number one choice is that I wouldn’t go on if I thought he was being harmed” (Milgram Obedience Study). Most humans do not wish to harm others intentionally or willingly, because as humans we follow the Golden Rule, which is treat others the way any person would want to be treated, with