The philosopher, Socrates, believes that mankind is inherently good. He argued that no one desires evil and that no one does wrong willingly or knowingly. Humans are often viewed as inherently evil because of their actions throughout history, events such as the Holocaust and World War II are used as examples to emphasize this. When considering these tragic events, it is often forgotten that those involved are human as well and experience the same emotions an average person would. More often than not those involved in traumatic events such as war experience Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), a mental illness triggered by traumatic events. If mankind is “evil” as others may claim how is it that humans are left traumatized after certain
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Like Hobbes, William Golding is a firm believer in mankind being inherently evil. Golding’s views are expressed in his novel Lord of the Flies, in which man’s capacity for evil is exemplified through man’s primal nature. As a species man is violent. Humans have used violence throughout history in order to secure resources for themselves, things such as hunting, raiding, and fighting have been consistent throughout time. Mankind’s condition is to resort to violence in all situations. Whether it is something necessary such as hunting for food or something unnecessary like warfare. When violence is man’s primary means to provide for themselves how can one argue the mankind is good? Independent from the conditioning done by society, humanity is inherently evil. Mankind’s immortality is evident though humanity's impulsive, materialistic, and vengeful …show more content…
Man being materialistic has run deep throughout time, from hunting animals for fur to taking advantage of others for money. This greed within man causes the worst of man’s nature to come out. During the 19th century there was a prominent period of time known as the California Gold Rush, a time where the materialistic nature of humans came out and left a trail of destruction wherever they went. After hearing news of gold being found in California over 300,000 people flocked to the Unites States. Being blinded by greed these humans destroyed the land with the chemicals and mines they used while looking for gold, then drove the First Nations off their land. Driving the First Nations off their land wasn’t enough, these people then proceeded to massacre them, take them as slaves, and sell the attractive women. Man’s primal acquisitive nature cannot be so easily repressed, driven by this nature man is willing to go to extremes in order to secure material possessions for themselves. Whether it involves killing, stealing, or destroying, man is easily blinded to what is morally right and wrong under the influence of greed. This remains a trend to this day, one that can be observed in the American tradition known as Black Friday; a day where many promotional sales are offered. Searching for the term Black Friday
Like Hobbes, William Golding is a firm believer in mankind being inherently evil. Golding’s views are expressed in his novel Lord of the Flies, in which man’s capacity for evil is exemplified through man’s primal nature. As a species man is violent. Humans have used violence throughout history in order to secure resources for themselves, things such as hunting, raiding, and fighting have been consistent throughout time. Mankind’s condition is to resort to violence in all situations. Whether it is something necessary such as hunting for food or something unnecessary like warfare. When violence is man’s primary means to provide for themselves how can one argue the mankind is good? Independent from the conditioning done by society, humanity is inherently evil. Mankind’s immortality is evident though humanity's impulsive, materialistic, and vengeful …show more content…
Man being materialistic has run deep throughout time, from hunting animals for fur to taking advantage of others for money. This greed within man causes the worst of man’s nature to come out. During the 19th century there was a prominent period of time known as the California Gold Rush, a time where the materialistic nature of humans came out and left a trail of destruction wherever they went. After hearing news of gold being found in California over 300,000 people flocked to the Unites States. Being blinded by greed these humans destroyed the land with the chemicals and mines they used while looking for gold, then drove the First Nations off their land. Driving the First Nations off their land wasn’t enough, these people then proceeded to massacre them, take them as slaves, and sell the attractive women. Man’s primal acquisitive nature cannot be so easily repressed, driven by this nature man is willing to go to extremes in order to secure material possessions for themselves. Whether it involves killing, stealing, or destroying, man is easily blinded to what is morally right and wrong under the influence of greed. This remains a trend to this day, one that can be observed in the American tradition known as Black Friday; a day where many promotional sales are offered. Searching for the term Black Friday