Despite everything, I believe that people are really good at heart., -Anne Frank Options

[HakunaMatata]

That was a prompt twice 8th grade year when we read The Diary of Anne Frank, once before and once after. As cheesy as it is, I still can't believe that after all she had gone through, she would still believe that people are naturally good.

Are people naturally good or bad?

[marzipan]

Well....

Looking at it from a religious standpoint, we're all born sinners because of the whole Adam and Eve story.

But, it's possible that everybody really can be good at heart. It's society, media, other people, etc. that influence us and can really turn us into "bad people."

There's different ways of looking at it, but the way society stands now, I don't think everyone can be good at heart.

[deletethisplease]

All people are good, but some lose control and go bad.

[pandamonium]

You can take this both ways. When you say people can be bad, that can either mean two things:

1. That you arent perfect. Adam and Eve only took an apple from a tree does that mean they are entirely evil? or

2. That they only broke one rule and they arent perfect

bad can mean evil or just not perfect.

for me i think humans are purposely good. I think people do bad things for a good reason. I know it sounds a little shaky but i dont think every one is evil.

[Simba]

Well yeah, there's a lot of religious standpoints you can take from here.

If you go with Adam and Eve, then we're born sinners.

Reincarnation, then depending on your actions in past lives.

There's also that we're born neutral, and that it depends on how we are nurtured and raised during our childhood.

[tokyo-rose]

I think that at first everyone is born good. There's not much bad you can do while you're a baby, at least not purposely. Then, depending on how you're raised and the things you're exposed to, you might turn bad.

Like Anne, I would much rather look on the good side of people than the bad. It's just that some have become so corrupt that it's hard to believe they were good at one point.

[multifaceted]

We are all good in a specific way. You just have to see it in a specific angle.

[Smoogrish]

I think at the beginning, everyone is good, but some people can veer completely off the course and go bad.

[michellerrific]

I think everyone is born good. There are just things in life that end up changing the attitude or personality of a person. But I think personally that no one will ever be completely bad and that there will always be at least a little bit of 'good' in them.

[*Uronacid*]

All people are instinctively evil and selfish.

[*mona lisa*]

People are naturally good; however, most have learned to be selfish (in any context) in some regards due to personal experiences, values taught by others, especially parents, etc.

There's an instinct to defend yourself if pushed to the limit but innately evil? Nah, I don't completely believe that.

[Stefanny]

Everybody has their own will, but that can also lead to bad things. Most people realize that they have to do good in this world. There are some people with mental problems and etc etc who abuse their willpower and overpower/disrespect others.

I think everybody has the power to turn their lives around, and become a better person. It's all in what they want to do, because you can't change somebody without them seeing what they need to change and realize what's wrong.

[*Azarel*]

Ah, the old Nature vs. Nurture question.

Man is born fundamentally good, but as people have already said, society shapes them.

[Señorita Semi-Au...]

Well, a christian believes that man was born evil and condemned to hell.

My personal belief is that we're all born the same and molded by how we're raised. If you aren't raised to know goodness and empathy, you'll become a sociopath. :)

[*Duchess of Dork*]

Ah, the old Nature vs. Nurture question.

Man is born fundamentally good, but as people have already said, society shapes them.

I was thinking the same thing.

Then again, there's always Shakespeare's ,"A devil, a born devil, on whose nature / Nurture can never stick," from The Tempest.

I've always thought there was some fusion between the two. We have some inherent or generic traits, that nurture (or environment) can bend and stretch into different directions.

I have honestly seen some very angry children before. We're talking, YOUNG. They just seemed so mean spirited. Now, obviously they haven't lived long enough for their environment to have that much of a profound impact. At least, I do not believe it so.

I believe that people enter this world in an innocent state, but that doesn't necessarily mean that they are naturally good or evil. They just are.

[Jeng]

People can't be always perfect, they all probably have a thing or two that they have done to be catorgorized as 'bad'.

[timeflies51]

I take the Satrean existential view:

Every decision that we make, we first believe that it is the good thing to do in our own opinion. Now, we may look back on them and think, "Oh, maybe not..." but when we made it, at the time, we thought it was the good choice. And don't forget, what some people view as bad, others view as being good. (Example: The suicide bombings in the Middle East or, of course, the Holocaust.)

So you might ask, what about people who purposely choose evil decisions? Well, then they're just accepting evil as being good.

So technically I do believe this: Everyone believes that they're good at heart and means to be good at heart, depending on their definition of "good." Others may just not agree with that definition. But it's human nature to do "good" things, I believe.

[pinacoolada]

That was a prompt twice 8th grade year when we read The Diary of Anne Frank, once before and once after. As cheesy as it is, I still can't believe that after all she had gone through, she would still believe that people are naturally good.

Are people naturally good or bad?

According to ancient China's legalists, people are evil =P
Haha.
But I believe everyone is good (Although their definitions of "good" may be different). But no one is perfect..therefore, everyone has some bad streak in them.

[OhMyAnniee]

I think everyone is naturally good.
It's your surroundings that change who you are.

[achimongus]

This is just what I believe: To be human is to be a blend of good and evil. Our will and personality is what decides whether to be good or bad....or, desire. We seem to be born good...but babies have no desire and no will and no personality yet, so there is nothing to sway them in either direction.

Just my opinion.