Evil: Nature or Nurture?

[AFA]

Ulysses Handy is serving three consecutive life sentences for brutally killing three people. He shows no remorse or regret for the crimes he committed.

http://abcnews.go.com/2020/Story?id=3359185&page=1

 

[dick van cock]

Nihilistic question: What is "evil"? What is "good"?

Can you define it? If so, the definition holds true only for your own moral values system.

Our common understanding of terms is shaped primarily by philisophical traditions based on the Judeo-Christian religions and what the big-wigs from the Age of Enlightenment told us. "We shalt not kill..." Right!

But humans merely being mammals, fraternicide is embedded into our animal DNA. What keeps us from slaughtering each other is a functioning system of Rousseau's contrat sociale
(we individually profit from respecting each other's interests) and the fear of legal punishment.

Peaceful coexistence is nurture; carnages are nature...

(simply two cents :2 cents: , of course...)

 

[member006]

Having discussed this with my mother many times over the years disagreeing. Now, with living more of life and seeing so much more, I have definitely made a sharp left turn on my opinion.

I do believe now as she always did that some people are just "Evil" no soul. I used to argue that if capable of certain things, that those type people were "mental" not responsible for their actions. I do in many cases still believe that, but a few people like this man I think were just born evil.

We have a little girl in our extended family I'm sorry to say that way. I swear is the devil in drag. She has burnt, choked and tried to drown her little brother and never shows any remorse. Her parents fear their own child. Can you even imagine? She attacks them physically and has even gone after her mom with a knife and is only 7. She HATES everything and everybody. *shakes head* Has been evaluated and they say she is perfectly normal, just has anger management problems? Yeah right!

This is a good read. http://www.hss.caltech.edu/~mcafee/Bin/sb.html

I will be watching this guys interview on Friday, sounds interesting to me.

Friday on "20/20's" special "Hell: Our Fear and Fascination," at 10 p.m. EDT

LL

 

[calpoon]

We have a little girl in our extended family I'm sorry to say that way. I swear is the devil in drag. She has burnt, choked and tried to drown her little brother and never shows any remorse. Her parents fear their own child. Can you even imagine? She attacks them physically and has even gone after her mom with a knife and is only 7. She HATES everything and everybody. *shakes head* Has been evaluated and they say she is perfectly normal, just has anger management problems? Yeah right!

LL

throw her down a well.


I'd have to agree with dick on this one. you're only as crazy as the crazy mofo next to you.

 

[YMIHERE]

If it's evil there only one solution.

 

[Undertaker]

no one is born evil. I believe that evil and good is like a scale. Some people tilt more to evil and some to good. and it's always possible to tilt to the other side.

some days i feel evil some days good. however most people are likely to feel both ways but what i believe that are different from people that don't go and kill people is a strong character, morals and a strong mentality..

 

[xxaru]

no one is born evil. I believe that evil and good is like a scale. Some people tilt more to evil and some to good. and it's always possible to tilt to the other side.

some days i feel evil some days good. however most people are likely to feel both ways but what i believe that are different from people that don't go and kill people is a strong character, morals and a strong mentality..

I agree. I don't believe anyone is born evil. After all, it's society and government which dictates what is good vs bad/evil. Some people, for whatever reason are just filled with anger and are violent. They may have higher levels of some body chemical which makes them more angry and violent than normal. They may have experienced something in their childhood that triggered something. It could be any number of things... but I don't believe anyone is born evil, ready to kill, or whatever.

 

[D-rock]

It's too hard to prove one way or another. Most people’s actions I would say are more strongly due to nurture as humans think on a level higher than just instinct. Plus you can teach anybody to be almost anything you want them to be. I have seen too many people that were completely different from their parents. I have also seen people, although maybe slightly fewer of them, that were the opposite of their environment. Some people break both molds at the same time. There is just no solid way to answer the question.

 

[jamrak]

in my opinion it's a combination.
and I give 30% to nature and 70% to nurture.
I do not like when everything is explained by DNA and genes. Because even if you got some shit in your genes, you still need activation of that shit, to make that shit happen. The environment, and upbringing can be a push for that activation. But I am sure, that even when you got inclination for some evil/bad stuff, you still can resist it and use your head.

Sometimes even crimes and all the qualities of the character are explained with genes. I bet that you've seen articles with title like that "Scientists found out that
it is a special gen for stealing" or "...for adultery" or whatever else like that. I do not accept that way. Ok, I do not argue that they can find some gen, but it is just like windows register: you can right click at the screen, and change some options in common properties window, and it will be just like upbringing. but you can go deep in the DNA, using some registry-tweakers, and change the same option "from inside", by adjusting some entry "534df65500ER6-666h-OOOT" parameter to "54647-435-fffd0". But you know that sometimes by editing options in this way careless you can crash the whole system. The same is with genetic engineering.