Is Human Nature Good?

1415 Words6 Pages
It is humans’ essential good that allows for codependence and limited amount of conflict and crime. Essential good does not preclude conflict or evil, which can result from scarce resources, opposing viewpoints or mental disorders, but results on the whole in a cooperative society that is not solely dependent on the rule of law. A human being is born with a personality that if treated with love and kindness and their basic human needs are met, will develop into a moral person. Individuals have the ability to counterbalance negative emotions using the power of reason with empathy, compassion, awe, amusement, trust and gratitude, all of which promote ethical action. These emotions provide insight into why mankind has continued to function for generations without becoming extinct, as good has constantly triumphed bad. If there was evil everywhere, society would not function like it does today, and people would constantly be committing crimes in order to better themselves In essence, evil exists and poor behaviour does occur, however; history proves that these outbursts are the exception, not the rule. Despite the existence of immorality, humankind is considered good to a significant extent. The atmosphere that one is surrounded with greatly influences beliefs and values of that individual. Philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau supported the true goodness of humanity and conceived that “man is born free and everywhere else he is in chains.” Man can be restricted by his circumstances, his economic state, his family, his nationality, and the race he belongs to, but that does not mean his basic human nature is evil. The choices and way an individual acts depend greatly on what they are exposed to from the moment they are conceived, to the time that their moral backbone is set in place. If they are only shown one way of life, their chances of seeing the world differently only
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