Human Nature

Are human beings fundamentally and essentially Good or Evil? Or is this the wrong way to frame the question? Or is this the wrong question to ask?

At first glance, human evil is obvious enough. Their irrationality and senselessness is massive and undeniable. The way they attack and damage themselves and their fellow man – both currently and historically – is stunning to see and horrific to contemplate.

And yet human babies seem good enough. Infant human beings are evidently innocent and pure. They almost never seem irrational or senseless. And they rarely or never deliberately harm themselves or even their fellow man.

Kittens and puppies also seem morally good – if such a designation can be applied to them. Indeed, when various high-level mammals are born – including predators – it seems almost ludicrous to judge them morally low. They very much seem loyal to their inborn, intrinsic nature. If such lifeforms aren’t naturally virtuous and good, then at worst they seem morally neutral. They are what they are. They are this based on their inherent biology, and to judge them evil seems untrue and unjust.

Maybe humans are the same. Just looking around at people today, and studying human history, there seems to be a lot of evidence for this. Kids start out mostly sweet and wonderful, but as they grow up they manifestly become corrupted and degraded by their irrational, senseless, illiberal culture. Unhealthy and unhappy society seems to drag them low.

When a human child is born, he initially seems to be quite sincere and honest about looking at his world, himself, and his fellow man. He seems fairly bold and brave too. While he looks to grow and improve, he’s filled with an eager curiosity about virtually everything and everyone; and malicious destructiveness about virtually nothing and no-one.

So the best and most accurate conclusion to draw seems to be that human babies are fundamentally and essentially good. They’re rational, sensible, honest, brave, harmless to self and others, and beneficial to both. It’s malevolent and evil Society that makes humans bad. It’s depraved, irrational, illiberal philosophy and culture that corrupts and degrades humanity. This intellectual and spiritual failure warps and wounds their sacred essence. It almost forces them to damage themselves and their fellows. But when an unattacked product of Mother Nature, human beings are evidently fundamentally and essentially good.