Humankind: Good Or Inherently Evil

Throughout history, the human race has struggled with whether it is essentially good or inherently evil. Even the greatest minds have had difficulty finding a definitive answer to this perplexing conundrum. Saint Augustine of Hippo, Hobbes, and Nietzsche all pondered this and were unable to come up with a simple answer. Fortunately, the debate that has lasted for millennia is coming to a halt. However, in order to successfully analyze the ways of humankind, a clear framework must be established. In order to be considered good, the actions of the human race must be considered to possess or display moral virtue or showing kindness. And to be considered evil, humankind must be considered profoundly immoral and malevolent. Some people may say that …show more content…
The mere fact that the man just outright killed the woman for something as little as stepping outside of traditional gender roles shows that the human race is evil at heart. Further, the poem was produced by a member of European society, which means that the views held by the author, Browning, would reflect the views held by the society that Browning lived in. This means that the majority of English citizens believed that if women stepped out of their place in society, it would be justified for a man to end her life. This can only be seen as complete and utter malevolence that is the result of human beings’ naturally evil state. Furthermore, the evil ways of the human race can be seen in William Golding’s Lord of the Flies in several key passages. The first is when the boys are talking about the possibility of the beast existing and Simon says, “‘What I mean is… maybe it’s only us’” (Golding 89). This passage reflects the main purpose behind Golding’s Lord of the Flies, which is to show that innate human evil exists. The beast exists to represent the primal instinct of savagery that exists within all humans. The boys are afraid of the beast, but Simon realizes that they only fear it because it represents the evil present within them. This primal savagery is later reflected in the novel when the boys murder Simon and Piggy in cold blood. When Simon realizes the beast is simply a dead parachuter, he runs down the mountain to tell the rest of the group; however, when he tries to spread this knowledge, they crowd around him and stab him repeatedly with spears (Golding 152). Later, when Ralph’s group tries to reason with the savages, Roger rolls a boulder onto Piggy, shattering the conch and marking the end of all societal structure (Golding 181). Both of these incidents show that when human beings are allowed to return to their natural state, without the