Is Man Inherently Good?
An argument one often hears touted is that man is really good at heart, and if we could just make that goodness come out and work together for a common goal (generally peace) everything would be all right. Sounds great, huh? Some men have long had the quite noble goal of bringing out the innate goodness in everyone and working together for the good of all mankind.
Let’s assume for a moment that these men are right. There is an inner goodness dwelling in all of us. No one really wants to do things that are “unethical.” The question one is forced to ask when faced with this possibility, is why then the “unethicalities,” if you will, in the world? If nobody really wants to do bad things, then how come people do them?
One theory I’ve heard is that people are simply influenced by bad in their life. They are born good, but then, because people around them do bad things to them, they become bad as a reflexive action. They merely need to be raised in a good atmosphere, without the influence of corrupt society. Again, sounds nice. Doesn’t work that way in real life. History demonstrates that some of the lowest people who have been the very face of evil in this world were raised in “good environments.” Hitler was extremely cultured. He and his minions played Mozart on the piano at night after killing thousands of innocents heartlessly. He was a privileged youth. Yet he is considered by many to be the most evil man that ever lived. Ancient kings and emperors, such as Nero, who were worshiped and treated with all manner of undue love and praise and worship, were among the most despotic men to exist. They merely used their kingdom and position for the fun they wished to have. They cared not for other men, so long as those men did not bother their fun. Then those men were killed. Viewed through the harsh reality of history, a good environment where one is treated well is not enough to keep man from being evil.
Another I’ve heard is that people view evil around them and think it is all that exists and naturally do it. That would somehow explain Hitler and Nero and the like. Except that Hitler almost became a priest. And Nero ruled a throne that had been once occupied by one of the greatest rulers of history, Julius Caesar, who, while certainly not an entirely good man, was far more righteous than many of the rulers of his day. Nero had the tradition of what had once been a great democracy to look back to as well.
Do babies have to be taught to throw a “temper-tantrum” when they don’t get their way? No, they certainly don’t. All of my younger brothers have done it, and it wasn’t because they saw my parents doing it, either. They did it because it was ingrained within them. Throwing a fit is wrong. We often call it childish, which seems to me to be nothing more than a nice way of saying idiotic, simple, dumb, and usually wrong.
A great experiment was tried once, supposedly based on man’s inherent goodness. Few people know that the entire known world was once under a single government, and I am not speaking of Rome. It was Babel. At that time, men all spoke the same tongue. They all seemed to be working together for a common goal: the peace and unity of mankind. They built a gigantic ziggurat to themselves, called The Tower of Babel. They decreed that they would be as high as God. However, one can surmise that this unity was artificial and enforced. The probability that all mankind was united in that manner is ridiculous, considering the evil that was rampant at that time. God would have none of it. Why? Surely if God was just He would not mind man becoming like Him. Except that man had been innocent of sin before Adam’s sin. Now, man was corrupt, and was pushing to this goal of being as a god with purely evil motives in mind. Even at the supposed height of unity in civilization, man was plotting how he could gain more power. He wanted absolute power, and it is not unlikely that someone already had absolute power. The Bible sometimes leaves details out. Ever heard the old saying “absolute power corrupts.” Well, it’s wrong. Man is merely allowed to show his corruption more with absolute power.
You may be asking what exactly that last paragraph has to do with my argument. It is an attempt to demonstrate that even while these lofty goals of peace and unity are supposedly being achieved, they are not successful in eliminating evil.
Don’t pretend this is real. Man is not obviously not inherently good. By default we are forced to say that he is evil, though my argument will not rest solely on default. Unfortunately, it is late, and I must sleep sometime.
To be continued…
Excellent points.
I blogged on this in a big picture sort of way in Are people basically good?. I had heard of the following study done in Chicago:
The time it took people to get in their cars and leave a parking lot was measured. The variables were 1) no people waiting, 2) people waiting patiently and 3) people waiting impatiently. If people are basically good, one would expect the average exit time to be lowest when other people were waiting. Here are the average times:
No one waiting – 32 seconds
People waiting patiently – 39 seconds
People waiting impatiently – 42 seconds
So it appears that the average person deliberately goes more slowly when someone is waiting. This sure doesn’t help the case of those claiming that people are basically good.
Once I became a Christian it became more and more clear that even when I am “good” it is often with an ulterior motive.
Neil
April 5, 2007 at 6:13 am
I don’t buy into the concept of the Total Depravity of Man. I understand the rationale, I also appreciate its internal consistency.
Man is born with a light in him, this is not morally good, but he is made in God’s image, with a sense of right and wrong. I will even not use theology, but philosophy, and opine with Aristotle, that this inner self is called natural law.
However, man’s nature is eventually fallen. Your analogy of the two year old is perfect. Selfishness doesn’t have to be taught; it is instinctual.
However, too often people blame human nature, when they really mean to talk about human behavior.
avoiceofreason
April 6, 2007 at 7:59 am
Nice post! Very well stated!
momlovesbeingathome
April 6, 2007 at 2:44 pm
[...] Attitudes, Apologetics, Evolution, God, Economics at 10:07 am by thelonedrifter The continuation of this post… If man is not inherently good, then we are left with two choices. Either he is merely a random [...]
The Depravity of Man « Wit or Wisdom
April 11, 2007 at 10:08 am
Well, women are inherently good. Men…that’s a different story. Just kidding. Anyways, that was a great post, although I don’t agree. You’ve given me some good information to use in my paper (titled “People are Inherently Good”), though.
Christina
May 3, 2007 at 12:15 pm
This will remain unanwswered. Every notion, insights, judgments will forever remain a theory. great write though.
alexander san pedro
June 16, 2007 at 3:31 pm
I don’t think it takes much of a Theological education to answer this question, all you really need is a clean mirror…………steve
Next Stop Lauderdale
July 19, 2007 at 11:34 pm
[...] tells me that all men are bad. I didn’t want to believe her and thought her cynical. Human beings are inherently good, [...]
Yvonne Foong » Blog Archive » Aren’t all men inherently good?
February 19, 2008 at 2:30 am
aw the age old question is man really pure at heart?I believe that yes man is good at heart to begin with and has knowledge of evil…..but we all make an individual choice…
off topic however…
if I were to simplify myself into to two parts I would say there is the Human side..my thinking,calm,cool collective side that puts others feelings on a level of my own making them just as important…then I would say I have an animal side.the side of me in which is all about me..what I want..what I need..the side that says forget everyone else..self preservation
hmm I’m thinking that as humans noone can possibly ever answer this question…in order for us to answer this question we would need a human who has no knowledge of good or evil…and place him in the modern world…however this human would have to be above all influences he would have to never gain the knowledge of good or evil and make decisions on how he felt from a neutral point of view….
Don Stout
May 31, 2008 at 7:02 pm
I think by posting on here we all want what is good. See it’s a little bit of both we “selfishly” “want” good but it’s not selfish because we think it’s right. right? but is it? We really are just the smartest animals are we not? Maybe good is created.. maybe good is the highest discipline of mans creativity and ability to create and think. Manipulation is easy I’ve been tricked many times but when you meet someone who’s good you think, wow they’re good, that’s good. Simple to say but they try really hard and we don’t always know why. It’s good to see people post about this, you guys are great.
Devon Abraham
December 24, 2008 at 9:41 pm
Why must you say that man is inherently evil since he is not inherently good? Life is not one or the other. We are all filled with both and make our choices every day. To say that man is mostly bad, is still not fair. True there are clear examples like Hitler but there are also clear examples of those who are mostly good. I think of nurses and doctors or clergy. What about all of the charities in our country? Americans as individuals are far more giving than any other country. Even the neighbor who mows the elderly man’s yard because it makes him feel good.
Given the choice, I think more people are good. I knw I am : )
Kathleen
January 13, 2009 at 5:49 pm
We all like to think that we are good, but in reality: have I ever lied? Have I ever disobeyed your parents? Have I ever lusted after someone? If we take a look at the Ten Commandments put forth by God, we will find that daily we break one or more. I know I do. The commandments, however, were not put there to condemn but to show us how much grace we really need, and that grace was demonstrated by allowing God’s son to come on this earth, get brutally beaten, flesh torn from his bones so much so that his own mother didn’t recognize him. We have only to accept that Love and Grace.
Look at it this way: If I disobey my parents, I am essentially disobeying the authority of God. How? God has granted my parents the authority to teach and train me. Have I ever broken a speed limit (granted this is getting into small things but stay with me) the speed limit has been posted by the government. God has granted that government authority. By speeding, you are breaking the law and so disobeying the government and God.
Do you want to go to heaven? I know I do. How do I get there though? It’s not by our works, as someone has already posted: Doing good makes us feel good. It’s by the grace of God through Jesus Christ dying on the cross. By accepting the love and forgiveness demonstrated by God we are saved and by following God wholeheartedly, in our actions, thoughts and deeds for His glory, Jesus will declare us righteous at the time of judgment. We are not made righteous, but Jesus will satisfy judgment by declaring us righteous.
In conclusion: every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood (Genesis 8:21) this explains why we don’t have to teach babies how to throw temper tantrums, lie and deceive, or to be selfish, but our hope is that through offering our lives as a living sacrifice to God, we can be transformed by the renewing of our mind (Romans 12:2). I LOVE God for the absolute love and grace he has shown me in my life. I praise Him for giving His Son as my Savior.
Andrew
July 10, 2009 at 12:14 pm
This is a great article, but one thing is not right about it. Hitler may have been extremely cultured, but he did not grow up in a good home. He was beaten and tortured by his mother, who constantly told him that she never wanted him. I just had to add that.
Madison
January 22, 2009 at 2:12 pm
Funny thing: One doesn’t have to teach growing children to be selfish, or to cover their tracks by lying, or to steal to get what they want. To the contrary, we have to teach them NOT to do these things. Uh . . . where do those traits come from?
Gene Thomas
January 28, 2009 at 2:47 pm