Our lives are not blank slates or stories to be penned by our own hand entirely. They are a collaborative effort, the product of a multitude of people and experiences. Even before we leave the womb, a genetic code, which plays an important role in the way we conceptualize ourselves and interact with the world, has been permanently imprinted upon us. So at the moment of birth, the pivotal opening act of our recorded narrative, what is inscribed and what remains unwritten?
Throughout history, philosophers have struggled to develop a unified theory of humanness. In other words, what qualities or traits can be said to define us all, what common values do we share? Competing conceptions often draw on our inclination toward virtue and vice. Much of Western thought is based on the founding myth of Original Sin, which places the blame for mortality and pain squarely on our shoulders.
But perhaps it is time to acknowledge that the universal experiences we all share—life and death, pleasure and pain—are conditions that existed before we did, not guided by conscious choice or a rational force. To live virtuously, we must strike a balance, what Aristotle called the “golden mean”, between accepting that there is great suffering in the world and recognizing our immense capacity for good. Between reckless confidence and paralyzing fear. Between joy and melancholy. So here’s the question: How do we find this balance in our own lives?
People are born good. Society pushes them towards evil. Often times, bad acts can be explained by the positive results for that person. However, guilt is largely unexplainable and I think it indicates that humans have an innate sense of good
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I think all humans are born good. For me, this is the only option to look at or else things get too depressing. I like to think that everyone has the capacity to do good, and it is only those who CHOOSE bad paths that end up astray.
Tue 11, 2008 11:25No, in all seriousness, I don’t think we can really say either without an understanding of how we arrive at classifications of good and bad. Because good and bad are based on social norms, being born good would mean living up to society’s standards. I don’t know if that is definitively what good is. If I were to define good as not perfect but having the potential to be perfect/pure/holy, I would say, yes, we all are born good. And I truly believe that we are.
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