Nicolas Posted February 8, 2014 Share Posted February 8, 2014 Do you think that humans are lovely beings who just wanted to be happy but they didn't get enought love, they have been hurt and that's why they are not so good? Or maybe you thikn that humans are just bad, selfish but some of them trying to ignore their natural reaction? I wannt read your oppionion. Really. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cowboy Karimov Posted February 8, 2014 Share Posted February 8, 2014 The second one. We don't let God help us with our problems enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junkhead Posted February 8, 2014 Share Posted February 8, 2014 It's too much to limit it to only two options... I think people who are bad are "carriers". It's like a chain, it's very contagious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Espinosa Posted February 8, 2014 Share Posted February 8, 2014 It's a good deal of both, really. People are complex, and so are the existing notions of 'good' and 'evil'. There's always the unrealised inner evil that's best not awakened, so excessive soul-searching can't lead anywhere good - IMHO it's a better idea engaging in productive activity to feel yourself as a real human being. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phoenix Wright Posted February 8, 2014 Share Posted February 8, 2014 Tommy Lee Jones said it best in Men in Black, "A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it. Everything they've ever "known" has been proven to be wrong. A thousand years ago everybody knew as a fact, that the earth was the center of the universe. Five hundred years ago, everybody knew that the Earth was flat, and fifteen minutes ago, you knew that humans were alone on it. Imagine what you'll know tomorrow." I think that our occasional mob mentality is very dangerous. I also think that our general inability to concern ourselves with future issues (those issues that will happen to the next generation or the generation after that) is dangerous for our species as well; we should be a proactive species because we're smart enough to be one. Humans also only tend to react to issues visible or experienced by the individual. For example, when it comes to world hunger, I've little doubt in my mind that most people would drop everything to help a starving child that they passed by in the street, but when it comes to contributing as a group to feed a nation thousands of miles away, our capacity for empathy and/or sympathy is severley severed. Overall, though, I have a positive outlook on the human race despite its shortcomings. We are a powerful species capable of many things, including ways to destroy our planet or leave it forever, that we haven't destroyed ourselves yet is evidence to me that we can and will continue to improve. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aizenberg Posted February 8, 2014 Share Posted February 8, 2014 (edited) Do you think that humans are lovely beings who just wanted to be happy but they didn't get enought love, they have been hurt and that's why they are not so good? Or maybe you thikn that humans are just bad, selfish but some of them trying to ignore their natural reaction? I wannt read your oppionion. Really. this is in the serious discusion....really? you're a human. what do you think? some are selfish. some are selfless. some are violent. some aren't. i think we all feel these kinds of emotions at one time in our lives. it's how we react to these emotions that makes us......unique i guess Edited February 8, 2014 by Aizenberg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Narga_Rocks Posted February 8, 2014 Share Posted February 8, 2014 Tommy Lee Jones said it best in Men in Black, "A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it. Everything they've ever "known" has been proven to be wrong. A thousand years ago everybody knew as a fact, that the earth was the center of the universe. Five hundred years ago, everybody knew that the Earth was flat, and fifteen minutes ago, you knew that humans were alone on it. Imagine what you'll know tomorrow." I think that our occasional mob mentality is very dangerous. I also think that our general inability to concern ourselves with future issues (those issues that will happen to the next generation or the generation after that) is dangerous for our species as well; we should be a proactive species because we're smart enough to be one. Humans also only tend to react to issues visible or experienced by the individual. For example, when it comes to world hunger, I've little doubt in my mind that most people would drop everything to help a starving child that they passed by in the street, but when it comes to contributing as a group to feed a nation thousands of miles away, our capacity for empathy and/or sympathy is severley severed. Overall, though, I have a positive outlook on the human race despite its shortcomings. We are a powerful species capable of many things, including ways to destroy our planet or leave it forever, that we haven't destroyed ourselves yet is evidence to me that we can and will continue to improve. I'm jealous you quoted MIB before I got to it. Only my opinion tends to cut the first 4 words of his speech. Yes, that includes myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robinigo Posted February 9, 2014 Share Posted February 9, 2014 Too much of both Humans are greedy and spiteful at times, choosing that which benefits themselves most, tossing aside their old toys in favor of shinier new ones. Humans are slobs and pigs, some living only to take, treating those that make them feel well like trash, being generic bastards. Humans are thieves and cheats, taking things from each other, ruining lives and loves, lying and not glancing back on their way out. But humans are compassionate, crying for people continents away, being shoulders for each other to lean on. Humans are generous, some live to give and ask nothing in return, some seek happiness through others, and not through empty sex and sensual touching. Some humans are heroes, worth looking up to, for what they do for the greater good and the world around them, some humans make such a term worth being called by. I'd lean toward the former, but I've had faith in humanity crushed and restored in the last week, so that's just me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phoenix Wright Posted February 9, 2014 Share Posted February 9, 2014 I'm jealous you quoted MIB before I got to it. Only my opinion tends to cut the first 4 words of his speech. Yes, that includes myself. I honestly don't understand why people are so pessimistic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blah the Prussian Posted February 9, 2014 Share Posted February 9, 2014 I honestly don't understand why people are so pessimistic. Maybe it is because we have every reason to be. We have seen that people have succumbed to our inner demons, causing wars, violence, and hatred. Hell, World War One happened because the world's superpowers were looking for an excuse. And now, we have the technology to kill life on Earth the next time two superpowers butt heads. And, even without nukes, human nature makes world peace impossible. Even if the world was united under a single superpower, to get the world to that state would lead to massive loss of life, and there would still be rebellion. Humans will always hate each other because humans will always be different. At this point, the only thing that can unseat us from Earth is ourselves. Human extinction is inevitable. In fact, I would be surprised if my grandchildren die of natural causes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrhesia Posted February 9, 2014 Share Posted February 9, 2014 I honestly don't understand why people are so pessimistic. Exactly. The majority of people are, well, decent people. Common sense, common decency, common dignity... they're fucking common. Opportunistic, perhaps, but evil doesn't come naturally to people. Neither does killing - it takes a lot of serious training for someone to not be fucked up by the concept of ending the life of another human. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Esau of Isaac Posted February 9, 2014 Share Posted February 9, 2014 Maybe it is because we have every reason to be. We have seen that people have succumbed to our inner demons, causing wars, violence, and hatred. Hell, World War One happened because the world's superpowers were looking for an excuse. And now, we have the technology to kill life on Earth the next time two superpowers butt heads. And, even without nukes, human nature makes world peace impossible. Even if the world was united under a single superpower, to get the world to that state would lead to massive loss of life, and there would still be rebellion. Humans will always hate each other because humans will always be different. At this point, the only thing that can unseat us from Earth is ourselves. Human extinction is inevitable. In fact, I would be surprised if my grandchildren die of natural causes. There is always some presupposition that war and violence are unintelligent. There is every indication that war as we know it, genocide even, is only carried out by species with some vestige of intellectual capacity. It could be easily argued that it's the "stupid", and not the "smart", that are predisposed towards peace. While we're on the topic of insightful quotes with regard to humanity, it was Jack Handey who said something along the lines of "I can imagine a world with no war. I can also imagine us attacking them because they'd never see it coming." Or applied here: only an idiot is so trusting as to assume all other people are as peaceable as he may be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Serene Flight Posted February 9, 2014 Share Posted February 9, 2014 Humans are scary... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blah the Prussian Posted February 9, 2014 Share Posted February 9, 2014 There is always some presupposition that war and violence are unintelligent. There is every indication that war as we know it, genocide even, is only carried out by species with some vestige of intellectual capacity. It could be easily argued that it's the "stupid", and not the "smart", that are predisposed towards peace. While we're on the topic of insightful quotes with regard to humanity, it was Jack Handey who said something along the lines of "I can imagine a world with no war. I can also imagine us attacking them because they'd never see it coming." Or applied here: only an idiot is so trusting as to assume all other people are as peaceable as he may be. That is a good quote, and I agree with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shin Posted February 9, 2014 Share Posted February 9, 2014 Nah, people are generally pretty good. There are more not-butts than butts out there, and the really terrible people are few and far between. If you focus on the bad stuff, you're gonna get yourself down, and if you don't notice it, you're not getting the whole picture. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steampunk Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 Humans are only as good or bad as the choices they make. You really cannot call all of humanity one or the other. Experience tells me most people are generally good, but there are a lot of bad ones too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonymousSpeed Posted February 14, 2014 Share Posted February 14, 2014 Humans, eh? Well, humans are innately flawed beings, there is no one who does everything right. The nature of humanity is very much like other animals in many cases, preservation of the species is the main objective. However, human's are also creatures of limitless mental potential. We can do things other animals cannot because we possess superior mental abilities. However, using those abilities well to be smart is the 'difficult' part. Humans are, again, innately flawed, but because we are sentient some of us will often do very stupid, illogical things. I could list hundreds, but why bother, everyone here can name a few right off the bat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sifer Posted February 14, 2014 Share Posted February 14, 2014 (edited) I just believe people do stuff. And the things they tend to do is in their best interest. I really don't see concepts of “good or evil” existing since they always seem “right” from one point of view or another. Edited February 14, 2014 by sifer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chiki Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 Going by scientific essentialism, the natural kind humans are like the essential properties that they necessarily possess, which makes them human beings in all possible worlds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alfred Kamon Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 (edited) There's no real answer to the OP's questions until the terms "good" and "bad" aren't clarified. While it's true that ethics are different between one society and another, there are more than a few traits which are shared by most people in the world. Justifying someone's actions by saying that "they're not bad since evil and good are relative terms" is a naive and quite indecent statement. We're genetically programmed to think that something is "good" or "bad". Every newborn has positive reactions to certain stimuli (things that taste sweet, human faces, mother's voice, well aligned mugs...) and negative reactions to other ones (things that taste bad, strangers' faces - around the 6th month of life -, scary mugs, and obviously painful things, etc.). This does not depend on culture, but at the same time it's something really immature and basic. Culture and education strengthens and gives more variety to an inborn formula of ethics. So, to keep this short, if the concepts of good and evil are relative, this doesn't mean that good and evil do not exist, but simply that a huge variety of good and evil exist at the same time. Do you think that humans are lovely beings who just wanted to be happy but they didn't get enought love, they have been hurt and that's why they are not so good? Or maybe you thikn that humans are just bad, selfish but some of them trying to ignore their natural reaction? I wannt read your oppionion. Really. To continue what I was saying, humans have some very basic inborn good/evil detection mechanism, but so far there aren't any known genes encoding an 'aggressive' / 'bad' character. Aggressive and more generally 'bad' actions in adults are being forged by education and society, so the correct answer would be the first one you proposed. This obviously does not justify anybody from his faults, since I'm pretty sure that people in most cases are not passive amoebas being forged by others but have their own intelligence and will to take actions and decisions. If you're interested in some documentation on the matter, I'd suggest to read these: Bandura's Bobo doll experiment, Zimbardo's Stanford University experiment, Milgram's experiment on evil caused by authority. Edited February 15, 2014 by Alfred Kamon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sasori Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 That's a question that's a little hard to answer, but I think that humans are (in general) the product of the society they where raised in. Your upbringing and the place or time you live in play a big part in your behaviour. Of course it doesn't apply to everyone, but I think that it plays a part in the morality in a lot of people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rexcalibur Posted February 16, 2014 Share Posted February 16, 2014 I think people could have the potential to be good and make world peace but there will always be greedy and insane people. It's just something that never goes away... A lot of people seem to care mostly about their own species and not others like people hunt for sport for example. Like killing a criminal is bad but not killing innocent creatures? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blah the Prussian Posted February 16, 2014 Share Posted February 16, 2014 I think people could have the potential to be good and make world peace but there will always be greedy and insane people. It's just something that never goes away... A lot of people seem to care mostly about their own species and not others like people hunt for sport for example. Like killing a criminal is bad but not killing innocent creatures? The topic of hunting is irrelevant to this topic. World peace is completely in achievable. Also, what's wrong with caring for your own species. Humans will always be more important than animals. In fact, all animals belong to us. We have a right to do whatever we want with any animal. However, humans are bastards. Just look at human history. We had slaves, we kill, we do all kinds of terrible things. However, I would do almost anything to save a life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rexcalibur Posted February 16, 2014 Share Posted February 16, 2014 The topic of hunting is irrelevant to this topic. World peace is completely in achievable. Also, what's wrong with caring for your own species. Humans will always be more important than animals. In fact, all animals belong to us. We have a right to do whatever we want with any animal. However, humans are bastards. Just look at human history. We had slaves, we kill, we do all kinds of terrible things. However, I would do almost anything to save a life. Where does that right come from? World peace probably won't be happening any time soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blah the Prussian Posted February 16, 2014 Share Posted February 16, 2014 Where does that right come from? World peace probably won't be happening any time soon. It comes from the fact that humans are the dominant species on Earth. In nature, might makes right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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