Good vs. Evil

I had a debate today about the inherent goodness in people. It's always been one of my favorite arguments. Over the years, I've become influenced by education (philosophy, psychology, and science), and observations in the world around me. I've formed a rather complicated opinion.

Many people want to believe that people are born either good or evil. Or perhaps a little of both. Or perhaps the "Blank Slate" thing.

I think that people are instinctive creatures, just like animals, but they do have the capacity to think and reason as they mature. When humans are born, they do everything to avoid pain and gain pleasure. So does that make a human good or bad? As humans make this transition from infancy to adulthood (avoiding pain and seeking pleasure), they're selfish. The difference between infants, children, adolescents, and adults, is the level of selfishness. As one matures, ideally, he/she is able to relinquish some of his/her own pleasure and accept more pain for the sake of another. And of course, when this does not occur, we tend to label a person "sociopath". So is this behavior learned and observed? Yes. Is it a biological change? Yes. At which stage of development does it really happen? Many stages. Is it a bad thing to want pleasure with no pain? Absolutely not!

Actually, I think it's all a matter of perspective. That's what I like so much about science, philosophy, and psychology----there will always be a good debate! Ms Erin