The good, The Bad and the Uncertain

Nature versus nurture.
That’s a debate that’s been going for some time. I’m not, however here to specifically talk about that.

What I’m considering is something a little more…simple. Something more, black and white.

I’d like to believe that everyone is, fundamentally, at their core, a good person.
However that’s a personal preference and not a fact backed by evidence.

Are there people born basically good and others born basically bad?

I presented an argument recently that, though I would love a society that committed good deeds for the sake of good, currently, as it stand, people need a push. A stimulant. Be that in the form of some figure to lead them or some event in their lives that can ‘push’ them into action. To be good.

I realise, after examining it further, that premise is flawed.

A person may possibly only act as their nature would dictate.

Let us examine an event, such as something simple as finding a wallet and examine it:

You find a wallet, you want to return it because you’re a good person.

You find a wallet, you decide to keep it because you’re a bad person.

Ok, now since we are keeping it simple, we are using ‘good’ and ‘bad’ as very base terms.
We are totally disregarding the grey area and the fact that people have the capacity for both good and evil I am trying to present a theory as to an over all nature of a person.

There where two possible outcomes for this event. A good and a bad.
My point is, a good person is already good. Posing such an event to them is not going to force them to be any more good, but simply allows them to be good. It highlights the fact they where good anyway.
Much the same as the bad person will be bad.

Lets go more extreme.

A man points a gun at a girl.

A good person may jump in the way and try and stop him

A bad person won’t and will stay completely out of the way and let it happen.

Whilst I’m ignoring survival instinct and a million more possibilities that could occur, just bare with me.
My point is the situation only served to emphasize the good nature or the bad nature of an individual.

So good people generally do good things over all.
Bad people generally do bad things over all.

Right.
That still leaves me with my original question however.
Was the good person born good and the bad person born bad?
Was it inevitable that they would follow their natures no matter what nurture and stimuli where put to them?

With that in mind, I began looking back through my own childhood as best I could.

We are creatures of learning. We learn new things everyday.
We had to be taught what was right and what was wrong, but once we are fully aware of that, I believe, we may then begin to show our true nature. The teachings may facilitate our personal nature.

When I was younger, If I did something I knew was wrong, deliberately or by accident, I always remember feeling guilty about it. I was genuinely sorry and from that I choose to do good things, because I simply didn’t want to do bad things.

Like all things, we learn from the positive and negative reactions and emotions. Guilt is of course one of those. It is a negative emotion that we wish to avoid. It aims us toward being good.

So, let’s, for arguments sake, say I AM a good person. (I’m not saying I’ve never done anything bad. But this is for arguments sake.)

Is the urge to do good things ingrained in me? Was I born with it? Is a feeling of guilt when doing something bad a sign of that?
Does a bad persons still feel the same guilt? Do they not? Can they disregard it? Do they feel the opposite in negative actions?

This of course is a purely nature orientated theory.
Let me present another theory though.

What if we are in fact, not just nature driven. We could very well be the result of our entire lives to date. Our nature, our thoughts, our experiences, our emotions: All of it. This is what makes us, us.
It’s what makes you, you. What makes me, me.

We are the result of the cumulative affect of all these things.

Still, I’m left with the possibility that our very nature may be what results in us experiencing things the way we do. It may influence the way we feel, the way we process our experiences and our very thoughts on all things.

It doesn’t eliminate the fact that a stimuli, ‘hero’/ ’leader’ figure or optimal event may be required to urge people into actively doing good deeds for the sake of good, but it does possibly mean that they are good people to begin with, and just need a boost in this muddy mixed up world of ours.

Interesting. And something I’ll continue to think on.

-K