...Often, a nihilistic view of human nature is taken by philosophers. Their dense and dreary works point out that humans are condemned to a life where evil is at the core of our essence. Their claims are hardly unfounded, what with conflict plaguing nearly all of human history, My problem with this philosophy, however, arises with the idea that we as humans are inherently evil because of our capability to make evil decisions. To say that humans are inherently evil because we have the capacity to be evil is, in my opinion, a false equivalency that simply cannot be made. I believe that evil is not something that lives and grows inside of us; it is not something that we must combat on a regular basis to make ‘good’ decisions. I am not denying humankind’s...
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...Are humans by nature inherently evil Lord of the Flies provides one with a clear understanding of Golding's view of human nature? Whether this view is right or wrong is a point to be debated. This image Golding paints for the reader that of humans being inherently bad, is a perspective not all people share. Lord of the Flies is but an abstract tool of Golding's to construct the idea of the inherent evil of human nature in the minds of his readers. To construct this idea of the inherent evil, Golding employs the symbolism of Simon, Ralph, the hunt and the island. Golding drives the point that the instinctual evil within man is inescapable. At one point in the book, when the Lord of the Flies is representing all evil, this theory is stated as, "The Lord of the Flies was expanding like a balloon". Along with this idea is the religious symbolism that is used for ineffectively confronting the evil. At a point in the book, Golding has Simon, symbolic of Jesus Christ, confront the Lord of the Flies. This is a pig's head on a stick that is imagined to talk and represent the evil in all humans. Simon tries to act and spread the knowledge of this evil to others but is killed. This is a direct reference to the death of Christ, alluding to the Holy Bible. At many points throughout Lord of the Flies, Golding writes for the characters to become gradually more and more evil. This attribute even reaches the symbols of goodness and order, such as Ralph. Once, when Ralph and...
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...Good and evil are moral concepts that coexist in modern society, categorizing actions and feelings based on a philosophical concept. Both are linked together, like the concept of ying and yang; one cannot exist without the other, they form a balance. According to team member Erika Alati, when using the word values, you must think of the subjects that a person views as important to his or her life. For example, a person with strong familial values may put family before other facets of life. A person’s morals refer to what is internally viewed as right or wrong. Morals are almost like personal traits; they are inborn into an individual’s character. As a person is growing older, they are exposed to many different ideas. Using this input of information, a person forms different beliefs. One of the most common examples refers to religious beliefs, for example Christianity. Team member Kelly O’Brien believes that a moral, a value and a belief are all uniquely correlated. There are some distinct differences, but all combine to determine the good or evil nature of an individual. A moral is an internal sense of what we believe to be right and wrong. Values are the principles by which we construct decisions about right and wrong; while prioritizing the importance of the value(s). Morals encompass more about good and bad leading to a stronger contradictory judgment, such as being immoral. A belief, however, is a more incendiary device. Satre (1956/2003) stated “we are always...
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...In moral theology, an act is the knowing choice of a human person. Each knowing choice is an act, and each act is subject to the eternal moral law. Some acts are moral, and other acts are immoral. An immoral act is a sinful act. Sin is a knowingly chosen immoral act. The morality of any act is based on three fonts (or sources): (1) The intention or purpose for which the act is done, (2) the inherent moral meaning of the act as determined by its moral object, (3) the circumstances of the act, especially the consequences. To be moral, each and every act must have three good fonts of morality. The intention must be good, the moral object must be good, and the good consequences must outweigh any bad consequences. If any one font is bad, the act is immoral. If an act is immoral due to a bad intention, the same type of act may be moral with a good intention. If an act is immoral due to the circumstances, the same type of act may be moral in different circumstances. But when an act has an evil moral object, the act is inherently immoral, in other words, the act is evil, in and of itself, apart from intention and circumstances. Every intrinsically evil act has an inherent moral meaning (the moral species) which is contrary to the moral law of God. Intrinsically evil acts are never justified by intention or circumstances because the moral species (the type of act in terms of morality) is inherently unjust. Pope John Paul II: "But the negative moral precepts, those prohibiting...
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...According to Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary, human nature is defined as “the nature of humans, especially, the fundamental dispositions and traits of humans” (Dictionary). Efforts to identify the exact nature of humankind date back centuries ago, as numerous thinkers and theologians debate the topic. The issue whether human nature is programmed in humans’ brains or if it is a decision based on beliefs, society, and the culture is very arguable. Philosophers throughout history, such as Thomas Hobbes, have offered their viewpoints of human nature, eventually reaching Sigmund Freud and other modern philosophers. However, in A Clockwork Orange, Anthony Burgess writes a story of a dystopian future version of Britain with the story revolving...
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...the forbidden fruit, and when Cain kills his brother Abel, good and evil become apparent in the otherwise perfect world that god creates. It is described in Genesis that not only is man made in the image of God, making man parallel to god, but woman, also contrasts with man, because of how she was created from man’s rib. Old Testament writers describe the world as a place of binary opposites, setting two opposing forces against each other in order to show the stark contrast between the two. These forces include positive and negative, good and bad, and lesser and greater. The Old...
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...In regards to whether humans are born evil or innocent, British philosopher Thomas Hobbes once said,”The condition of man... is a condition of war of everyone against everyone,” (bhsa). The debate of whether humans are born pure or evil has been argued since the 1500’s and one person who had an opinion on this topic was William Golding. Golding, a former WW2 veteran, agreed with Hobbes’s belief that humans are inherently evil and this concept is shown throughout his novel, The Lord of the Flies. In the book, a group of British boys crash on an island and the constant power struggle between two of the boys, named Ralph and Jack, along with the desire to survive brings out the worst in all of the boys . The question of whether humanity is inherently...
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...theodicy in response to the unfortunate, painful, evil events and circumstances found in our world. A theodicy is necessary only if we believe in a God who is inherently good, thus requiring an explanation of the apparent discontinuity between a good God and evil in the world. In order to express my own theodicy, I will discuss the forms of evil in the world and their various manifestations as well as whether or not creation as a whole is a “good” expression of the creator God. I will also discuss how eschatology affects our view of evil and God’s part in allowing or interfering with evil. Finally, I will discuss which theodicy I find most complete and why, as well as some of the strengths and weaknesses of my own theodicy. Evil in the World Expressing a theodicy requires a basic understanding of evil which can be referred to in light of that expression. The problem of evil has been dealt with in three separate classifications during our class time and reading; moral, natural and gratuitous evil. Moral evil is an evil event or circumstance caused by a human. Examples of moral evil would be murder, lying, stealing and greed. Moral evil results as the consequence of the decisions made by human beings exerting their free will. War, oppression and slavery are prime examples of moral evil perpetrated by human beings. Natural evil includes the pain and suffering resulting from the forces of nature or the actions of humans. Natural evil can be found associated with weather events such...
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...of the existence of the Universe, and all of its constituents. One of the constituents is the existence of evil. The problem that theists face is, an argument that both atheists and anti-theists use to criticise religion, and question against God; How come Omni-potent God and Omni-Benevolent God, can exist alongside the existence of both Natural and Moral Evil, or at least tolerate it’s occurrence. This comes in the form of the ‘inconsistent triad’ in which , if one were take out either one of the 2 tributes of God, could solve the existence of Evil. To elaborate, if God was omnipotent, though not Omni-benevolent, it would explain, that this God is either Tyrannical, or in a way at the least Sadistic, resembling the God of the Old Testament. On the other hand, if God is Omni-benevolent, he would love humanity, yet does not have the power, to directly prevent it from happening to humanity. Many scholars and theologians, have attempted at solving the problem of evil using theodicies (Justifying the existence of God in the face of evil), two of which were concocted by Irenaean and Leibniz, but include theodicies by St. Augustine and Alfred Whiteheads’ Process theodicy. Irenaeus’ theodicy, argued (like St. Augustine) that moral evil, is the doing of man, by being deviant in their belief in God and faith. However, he argued that God is at least partly to blame for the evil and suffering in this world, by creating the world imperfectly deliberately. Iranaeus; reasoning was that so...
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...film that is presented in the form of a third person narrative in which the audience is a outside party looking in on the cast of the film. The film is about a group of young pre-teen to teenage boys who crash land on an island somewhere is the specific ocean as a result of their plane being shoot down. In the background of the movie there is some type of war but the film never mentioned which war is taking place. With the film being based on a book from the 1950s and the film taking place in the 1960 it can be assumed that the war in question is either World War II or perhaps a future war. In the film the overall theme is that violence and hate are inherently a part of human nature and even without outside interference from society or adults teaching the next generation those traits still have a way of overtaking our better natures. The film does one of the best jobs of demonstrating this concept which can be attested by its popularity and continue reference in other similar works. You can see how this theme develops based of viewing...
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...Does Golding Think That Man is Inherently Evil? “Man is the cruelest animal.” ― Friedrich Nietzsche. Sir William Golding, a man who survived World War II and transformed his life into that of a nobel prize-winning writer, was no stranger to the idea of inhumane behaviour. He wrote the novel Lord of the Flies, which is about a group of boys that have survived an airplane crash and are currently stranded on an island with no adults. Over the course of the story, the boys go from being civilized human beings to barbarous savages, a transformation the author likely witnessed during his tenure in the navy. Golding suggests that people are inherently evil. In Lord of the Flies, the survivors of the airplane succumb to their wicked nature. The first example of that is the sinister celebration of killing the pig, at which the boys dance like savages and chant, “Kill the pig. Cut her throat. Spill her blood” (Golding 2006, Ch. 4, p. 75). The fact that small children repeat such a malicious phrase implies a lack of humaneness. Another example of their malevolence are their unnecessary acts of violence. The first instance of this is torturing Wilfred. When Roger questions Jack’s motive for punishing the younger clan member, he does not get an answer: "But didn't the chief say why? … I never heard him"(Golding 2006, Ch. 10, p. 159). Further along in the book, Piggy is brutally killed by Roger. Once again there is not an ulterior motivation for committing such a deed, Roger simply...
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...The problem of evil is no problem at all In religious texts the world over the Abrahamic God possesses three inherent traits. He is omnibenevolent, omniscient, and omnipotent. God's omnibenevolence is one of the most appropriate reasons for worshiping him. But with that being said one finds it hard to view God as omnibenevolent when there is so much evil and suffering in the world. Some Atheists, perhaps unjustly, wield this discrepancy between idealistic dogma and perceived reality as strong evidence against the existence of God. First assume God exists. Along with his other powers, and most importantly for our species, God is supposed to possess omnibenevolence. Imagine a world created by an omnibenevolent god. What would this world look like? Most simply stated it would probably be a world like our own but with the absence of malevolence and suffering. This is a problem however, because by definition it does not match the world in which we exist. By imagining a universe without evil surely an omnipotent being could create such a thing if he so chose. God does not seem to have created such a universe, therefore he cannot be said to possess omnibenevolence. Or perhaps God wished to create such a universe but was incapable, refuting his omnipotence. Some atheists have used this line of thought to argue against any notion of a benevolent, all powerful God. At face value some might find this completely plausible but it is not as firm an argument as an atheist would hope. The...
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...The evil nature and intentions of people can either hurt or harm individuals or it can bring about resilience and determination. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee revealed that humans often have other motives in life; some are born to be evil in nature, some are naturally innocent and then there are some that are born to protect the innocent. Are humans decidedly cruel or is there some moral good in each of us? In Lord of the Flies, William Golding presents a different view of the individual, specifically that within each person there is a struggle between right and wrong, but that evil will end up winning in the end. Initially, the boys listen to their consciences and act according to the moral code they were taught during their...
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...There is no distinct line between good and evil, as there is a range of human nature. Life may seem black and white, but is often actually shades of gray. If Shakespeare is writing about his “stand on human nature in King Lear by looking at specific characters in the play”, as Analysis of King Lear puts it, he is not writing that humans belong in a group of sinners or angels. Contrary to what the essay asserts, people cannot be inherently evil or inherently good. King Lear, written by William Shakespeare, features a large cast that displays the range of human personalities. In particular, Edmund merely falls on the more extreme end, as he is not entirely evil. No person is completely and utterly without morals. Contrasting Edmund, on the other...
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... His most famous written work was The second treatise of civil government (written in 1690). This book focused on the natural state of man and how government should be structured. Locke was a fan of man to say the least. Locke describes man in his writing’s as being inherently good natured. Locke goes on to explain that man in a state of nature is peaceful. Locke contested that man should challenge authority by using self reason to search for the truth. He said that man shouldn’t just expect the opinion of the authority or be subject to superstition. By man choosing to use reason he can then find the truth and challenge the legitimate functions of institutions hence optimizing human flourishing for the individual and the society. Locke explains that without the establishment of a common political authority, man will remain in a state of nature. This is a clear example of how Locke felt about man and how he viewed them as a whole. Lock stated “All men in their natural state are in a state of perfect freedom (Locke, 1690).” The positive side of Locke's anti-authoritarianism is that he believes that using reason to try to grasp the truth, and determining the legitimate functions of institutions will optimize human flourishing for the individual and society both in respect to its material and spiritual welfare. This in turn, amounts to following natural law and the fulfillment of the divine purpose for humanity (Stanford Encyclopedia). Locke has this idea that man is peaceful...
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