Good vs. evil

I am a hopeful optimist. I believe people are intrinsically good and truly care about the well-being of each other. I know people hope for a good life, good friends, to smile more than they frown and to share love as much as they receive love. I also believe children are born innocent and maintain their innocence throughout their childhood unless their innocence is taken from them by a psychological disorder, drug or alcohol affected caregiver or poor parenting.

People wish to do the "right thing" but life often gets in the way. A mother understands that stealing from Target is not the right thing to do but somewhere in her life, the line of right from wrong becomes blurred and she chooses wrong. A man does not want to kill another man in a bar fight, but somewhere in his life, he discovers that fighting is more rewarding than walking away, resulting in a life of incarceration.

A child knows not to lie but attempts to avoid punishment by telling a fib. Her mother holds her accountable to the lie and the child retains her innocence. A father allows the lie and the child learns that deceit is rewarded and her lying is reinforced - the child's innocence is stolen.

I offer this debate during the first week of my psychology 101 classes and ask students to write a two-page report on their belief of good versus evil. This is where things get interesting. Two semesters ago, I received three reports that were identical. Addressing my concerns with the three students, one came clean and said, "I Googled, 'Is Man Inherently Good, Bad, Both?' and bought the paper online." Finding this ironic (writing about one's feelings about good versus evil and students lying about the originality of their work), I use this example for a whole-class discussion. The debate is lively, the students are held accountable for their dishonesty and all learn a life lesson - good people sometimes do bad things.

Below is the paper the three students submitted (www.customessaymeister.com). Although the arguments are weak and the material written at a ninth grade, not college level, the paper does offer thoughts and insight into one's beliefs on good versus evil.

Psychologists often struggle with the question "does man have inherently good characteristics, or do they lead to the negative." Families struggle with this question because their son has turned into a murderer, and I am also struggling with this question right now. What makes a man act the way he does? Is it nature, hormone imbalances, or the way he is raised? Man's intrinsic characteristics can be good, bad or both. Most people would like to believe that they are good.

Man is inherently good; man is most likely brought up to be good. Once a child becomes potty-trained, he/she will most likely not stray from it. When a child learns to communicate, he will not talk baby talk in frustration at society. Because a child knows that he may be rewarded for cleaning his room, he will straighten up his toys and pick up his clothing articles. All these characteristics are learned at an early age showing that man is moral and kind from the beginning.

When a man matures and takes on a job to support his family, he shows his instincts are positive. He may not succeed, but his conscious told him to provide and be positive toward his family. Some people may say that man's inborn characteristics are good, but other people believe they are bad. In the comic book adventures of "Calvin and Hobbes," written and illustrated by Bill Watterson, Calvin portrays the life of a young kid whose propensities often lead him to trouble.

Sigmund Freud, the founder and developer of psychoanalysis, also helped prove that man's inherent nature is negative. Dr. Freud identified the Oedipus/Electra complex where a child has a sexual attachment to the parent of the opposite sex and jealousy toward the parent of the same sex. This complex shows through unconscious desires, a young boy (after age 3 or so) develops a marked attachment to his mother, and wishes to kill his father for blocking his goal of his mother's possession. This again shows that man's inborn characteristics are bad.

A man can live a respectable life, but also have contrary desires. In the movie "8 mm," there is a sadist who enjoys raping and murdering people in snuff films. He goes by the name of "Machine" in the movie business, but as an integral member of society, he is known as George Clemons. He has a good relationship with his mother, looks and lives like a normal man, and was raised as a good child.

Other people can also be both good and bad, and the highway is a good example of how people exhibit schizoid behavior. When a driver would like to drive 80 mph, and the person in front of him is only driving 70 mph in the fast lane, the fast driver may develop road rage. This is a temperament when a person exhibits manic driving habits. This person may be a minister at the local church and display uncontrolled driving habits, thus showing that man has both good and bad tendencies.

Personally, I feel that man's innate tendencies are negative, yet I also think a man is what you make him. Tarzan grew up in an ape community and therefore he knew how to act and survive like an ape. He was made to be that way.

The Bible says, "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it (Proverbs 22:6)." This adage shows that if you train a child one way, he/she will act that way. But on the contrary, this proverb subtly says that if a child does not receive training, he/she will not learn how to behave.

Everyone in the world has to eat to survive, and without the knowledge of how to acquire a job, and provide for oneself, a person has to steal. A lion or cheetah's natural instinct is to hunt and kill its prey by strangulation; this may become a man's natural inclination if not properly instructed.

Babies also show that man is inherently bad because all they know to do is to cry when they are hungry, whine when they need to be changed, or fuss when they want to be loved. They do not know how to act therefore showing that a man is born with unacceptable behavior. Man is born inferior, but he can be trained to be good.

Man's propensity can be good, bad even both. I believe that a man is naturally mischievous, but he can be made good. There is often a struggle to the question as to whether a man is inherently good, bad or both. Sigmund Freud supported this theory, but he has been proven wrong. Animal's natural instinct is for survival, yet animals can live passively or violently. Do you think that man is inherently good?

Send comments or other suggestions to Bill Rutherford at bprutherford@hotmail.com.