Are Some People Just Bad?

I think being the person I am, I would really hope that there was a chance for everyone to be capable of being an outstanding person, I have that optimism that there has to be some good deep down in a persons soul that can awaken and make them realize that their live is worth more then what they have currently got themselves into, however in reality I know it is far more complicated then what I think inside my head as I am only in my own head and not other people's. Everyone has to be will willing to accept help though and if they aren't.. Then that is when their chance for rehabilitation is going to be diminished severely.

 

I tend to be sympathetic to the position that there is something innate in humans, that while not necessary a reductionist primary motivator, that allows for immense cruelty to other humans not part of their in group. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In-group_favoritism

 

I would think if people are good at something then it's a given that they're bad at something (unless of course if you're Beyonce)

While I am good at writing essays, I am terrible when it comes to oral recitals. I'm bad at singing, trigonometry, working under time pressure but this doesn't actually mean that when people are bad they are REALLY that bad.

When I was forced tojoined choir at our church, the choir director trained each one of us and when it was my turn, he actually thought I can sing and it did convince me for a while that I'm not really just some guy with a deep ass voice after all.(I didn't end up getting a recording contract though).

It took me 3 times to take trigonometry but also took 3 times for me to at least remember a single formula but this still doesn't take away my hate with math.

I can actually work under time pressure when I am in my preferred area/setting.

I guess what I'm trying to point out is that when a person thinks that they're bad at something, it's either that they compare themselves to others, they have failed numerously, never had any experience or some other reasonable things.

(There are a lot of things I wish I could say about this topic but I shouldn't have taken that coffee)

edit - Holy shit you see what caffeine is doing to me? I was overthinking this question and we're talking about ethics here not people who are bad at something L M F A O

 

I believe everyone is capable of being good. And in your own mind I don't feel like anyone truly believes they are bad or they are doing 'bad' things. This justification doesn't excuse them from doing bad stuff of course but they feel like what they're doing is still just & good. People always have a justification for the stuff they do that can be linked to their past experience, what they've been taught or instinctively what has developed within them. Of course there are people with pathological psychosis, people who even after redemption would easily fall back into their old selves. But I feel like no matter how evil someone is, they are capable of some level of kindness...there is always something or someone that melts their heart.

 

I don't think so*. Rather, I think that human nature in general has some low points, such as tendencies towards greed and violence, and that not everyone makes use of their higher brain functions. I also think that certain elements in society can have a corrupting effect. Like money. I don't think people are irredeemable by nature, although it is quite possible that they never achieve redemption.

*There may be a few rare cases that could make a person inherently bad, or at least incapable of things like empathy.

 

I don't think that people are just "bad" from the start. Though perhaps there can be exceptions, like Hexagon said, in the case of those with antisocial personality disorder/sociopathy. I also feel like "bad" and "good" are moral constructs of our society, which can complicate the issue. What's considered "good" behavior has changed dramatically throughout history, and also varies from culture to culture. Much of whether someone is perceived of as "good" or "bad" is to my opinion more about the way they've grown up and what they've experienced rather than some innate " badness." I don't think, however, that every person who commits negative acts can be rehabilitated. Certainly some can, but not all. I think much of it comes down to the willingness of the person themselves to acknowledge their behavior as negative and to put in the work to change it.

 

Ok, let's try this one more time. I do think that deep down, people can be nice and it's just that there are many influences or situations that make them bad. If you look at some of the famous serial killers and their families get to be interviewed, they share that they were kind or gentle or just their average son/daughter/student ,etc. Hell, there was even a photo of Hitler holding hands with a sweet innocent looking girl and it just goes to show you how it's scary not because a dictator was holding hands with a girl, it's scary because he was just like any other person.

 

I suppose some people are just bad.

 

well, morality is only a social construction for natural realists and anti-realists.

 

Morality may be a social construct, but I don't entirely agree that it's changed over the course of human history. Developed towards greater morality, yes, but there are some fundamental values that underlie it that will never change, simply because a society cannot function without them. They'd be found in an alien culture as well. Then there are other things that differ greatly, but they tend to be less fundamental.

 

Some are just bad. That's how it is. Of course, I doubt there's anyone completely bad to the core, but there are a lot of mean shit they do that no one can teach them not to do it. It's weird, but to them, it's something as natural as breathing oxygen.

Though being the positive person I am, I'd love to think that everyone can change, even a little bit, and become a better person than before!


//Kaiser - your threads have some pretty unique, entertaining and fun topics to think about. You're awesome as always <33333 *hugs you*

 

I believe babies are born without evil, they learn that on the way.

(Can argue about what happen if someones brain is structured in a special way that gives him pleasure from others sufferings, but thats something im not too familiar with and im just stating it as an option)

 

I think some people are just born that way and can never be helped; one can definitely be born evil. Psychopathy for example is a brain condition caused by a damaged or missing frontal lobe (the place where empathy and rational thinking develops) and they are born this way and stay this way even if they have the most loving family and environment in the universe. You can't really teach what the brain is not capable of comprehending. This is also why people who suffer brain damage or cancer can also seem 'evil', violent, or cruel, when they were not that way originally.

With that being said, normal people (non-psychopaths) can be helped, changed, and are capable of good despite past actions

 

I suppose it depends on how you define a bad person, is it someone who does bad or someone who wants to do bad?
Looking at it like that, could a good man commit murder and a bad man never hurt another person?

This is a deep, complex and difficult question. I think that many people who do things we would judge as bad realise that they are 'bad', but think that whatever reason they do it for is just (even if that is greed/self interest).
There are many people who are inherently more capable and prone to breaking the law and hurting others, but does that make them bad people? How many people has the fictional character Jack Bauer killed/murdered? And he is absolutely a good guy.

 

This sums up what I think as well.

I hope everyone is in essence good, but it is difficult to see it in some people, and sometimes it's impossible (at least for me) to see good in someone.

 

No, I mean there's a reason for nearly everything (at least that's what I think). I see it as a mixture of nature and nurture- something genetic causing a tendency toward "bad" behaviour and definitely being "corrupted" at some point in life (whether it's being raised by bad parents, thrown into a bad situation, etc). I like to think that everyone has the capacity to be good

 

Yes, I believe that evil exists.

And yes, I know exactly how unpopular that position is.

And I don't care.

 

I tend to have very little in common with Rousseau, but one of the things I definitely agree with him is that people, regardless of their origin, are born pure and benevolent. Society is, for the most part, what turns us into asshats, while at the same time making us civilized.

Hobbes has the opposite point of view, but after spending time with children, I realized he's wrong with that one. Kids sometimes are evil, yes, but that's because they're ignorant and immature. Deep down we all have a tinge of good.