Selfish Nature of Humans Essay

innate desire to have what isn’t his. Discontent is a hopeless side effect to human nature, and unfortunately all men deal with it hundreds of instances within a lifetime. What people don’t realize, though, is they are given what they have for a reason. The creator of the universe purposely places things, people, and circumstances in everyone’s life when it is appropriate. When men chase after their own desires, it often results in some sort of consequence. This, the effects of selfish human nature, can be observed in many characters in Oedipus the King and Hamlet. Claudius, a character in the play Hamlet, is the ultimate example of a greedy human being. Claudius was the runner up to being crowned king. His adored…

The State of Nature is a concept that has been discussed by social contract theorists for many years. Both John Locke and Thomas Hobbes completed competing versions in their writings, Two Treatises of Government and Leviathan. While each differs substantially, both theorists were looking to understand and justify human nature. It is my argument that Hobbes depiction of the state of nature is more accurate because it takes into account a human beings are, at their core, selfish creatures. This…

order to maintain peace. For me, this idea that without regulation we would all act only out of self-interest, raises fundamental questions about what it means to be human; predominantly whether our nature is inherently selfish, and perhaps if we even have a fixed, immutable nature at all or if our actions and behaviour stem from how we are nurtured, causing them to be relative, depending on context. If we didn’t have governmental systems in place or at least aspects of societal structure,…

The conclusion that the Chinese philosopher Xunzi came to about human nature was that “human nature is bad.” (Cite) In other words, he believed that humans are inherently selfish, and must put effort into repressing their selfish nature to achieve any sense of 'goodness'. The evil in humans will lead to chaos and violence if left unchecked, and only by following external teaching and ritual can humanity be brought to order and civilization. (Cite) I disagree with this conclusion on the basis…

expresses as individuals attempt to obtain authority and selfish desires. The malicious actions during these times cause emotional turmoil and suffering for individuals and their relationships. In Othello, Iago desperately craves the power of Othello’s lieutenant and the respect the higher officers receive. The rejection Iago feels when he is denied the promotion produces a lack of dominance and virility, so Iago seeks to take revenge on the wrongdoings against him. Iago goes to extreme lengths…

Humans have the potential to become a monster, but whether that potential displays itself or not depends on the person and their environment. When a person does posses the traits of a monster though, like Victor in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, it can have disastrous consequences on everyone around them. In the novel, Victor begins as a humble university student striving for more knowledge. Meanwhile, he becomes more selfish and is void of any compassion towards the being he creates. As a…

This month’s conversation centered on the idea of a human nature and inherit characteristic of humanity based on our human nature. It was a discussion that has two men on two different sides of the idea. The clashing ideas, firstly the ideas that humanity is raw, evil, and selfish, and the other saw humans as inherently good creatures. This lead to so testy comments of both sides. However, after discussing the merits of humanities inherit characteristic, the discussion moved towards how inherit…

Human nature Combined with Order and Chaos in Lord of the Flies In every individual, there is a savage beast lurking inside, waiting to unleash itself at the breaking point. In the novel, the boys turned to savagery in their time of desolation. This aftermath is from the manifestation in humans, and how humans are selfish and narcissistic animals. With most people, fighting fire with fire is the natural instinct to resolve an issue, which is traced back to one’s barbarous thoughts, that live…

“Human Nature is the only science of man; and yet has been hitherto the most neglected.” , said David Hume's, a Scottish philosopher in the 1700’s. Hume’s observation remains significantly relevant to this day. Since the dawn of time, the question of the true nature of the entirety of humanity has always lingered, though left unanswered to this day. Within each human being lies a “moral compass” in which as we grow and learn, we begin to develop a nature which can either sway toward the good or…

Human nature is a term to describe the behaviors, feelings and thoughts of humankind that are thought to be shared by all humans. Defining human nature is the basis of political theory because different interpretations of human behavior influences they way people should govern societies. Human nature is a defining characteristic between political theorist’s work. Theorists such as Sigmund Freud, Karl Marx, John Stuart Mill interpret the natural behavior of humans to be different which leads them…