Are people born "evil" ?

[ringmastery]

Or is it all a product of their environment.

[drthais]

1. ah, the classic question

almost always answered with....
'some of both'

[seabeyond]

2. yup a touhg one i have thought of often

i have a brother inherently good with an evil streak, and i know it had nothing to do with parents or enviroment. always has been in him

i think a greater question should be, are we born with contracts to live out a life. a universal type energy, where you must have the polarity of good and evil. i can see the role satan played. he is to play a role.

[unblock]

3. i recall seeing some genetic studies

that suggested that genes are at least a component for some criminals.

however, i think the overwhelming amount of 'evil' in society is actually just a matter of misplaced loyalty and/or lack of perspective.

by this i mean, if i am loyal to my gang and have lost perspective for the shopkeeper, i might think that i'm doing 'good' by taking the shopkeepers money because my gang is in need.

in this light, i think that the bushists are not actually 'evil', in the sense that they're doing right by the group that they have loyalty to -- the ultra-rich executive class -- and have lost perspective for anyone else. so they think they're doing the 'right' thing by looting the treasury to funnel more money into the hands of the ultra-rich.


on the other hand, this theory doesn't explain rapists and molesters and vandals and so on....

[UdoKier]

4. We'll never know til all people can be raised in the same environment.

But I do believe that some people are born with more empathy than others, and a total lack of empathy is what I would call evil. My older son is much more callous to the feelings of other than the younger son... (But I wouldn't call him EVIL!!!)

Someone like Bush, who tormented animals as a child would be evil to me, even though he may be affable and friendly in some situations.

It reminds me of the boys in my school in 3rd grade who threw stones at a bird's nest until it fell down, then stomped on the tiny chicks, laughing. Even at 9 years of age, I was horrified (I'm male), so I think there must be something intrinsically different in boys who could do such a thing.

[maggrwaggr]

5. it doesn't matter

they are a menace, they cannot be reasoned with, their word means nothing, and the only thing they understand is force.

I've dealt with people who were actually evil in my life, and it's quite a shock when you come across one.

It's as if a part of their brain is missing. No joke. It's like they've had something lobotomized from them that everyone else has.

I've wondered whether it was developmental of biological, but from my personal experience I suspect it's purely biological, like someone who's born without arms, or without melanin.

What's actually worse than these evil people are those who ALLOW the evil people to flourish. The spineless fuckwads who let the evil people do their evil acts are WAY WAY worse than those who are born evil.

[Feanorcurufinwe]

6. What I always wonder is, how many truly evil people think they are good?

Like, did Hitler know he was doing evil, or did he think his cause was righteous? How many murderers and thieves think their crimes are justified and they did 'the right thing'? and so on...

[Hobarticus]

9. You mean, ordained by God?

Good point!

[maggrwaggr]

10. evil people think that everyone else is just as evil

they consider themselves more "honest" by being more obvious about it.

It's very strange. They really don't think they're different.

[Kinkistyle]

7. Define "evil"

Whenever this type of question pops up inevitably a definition of "evil" also needs to be given. From what we know about human psychology and the effect of sociology thereupon, "evil" is not so clearly defined as it once was (or Bush believes it to be).

I do believe some people are born with a psychological imbalance that causes them to become sociopathic (like Dubya) or if severe enough psychopathic (like Son of Sam).

[yardwork]

8. I think that Duya was.

[Robin Hood]

11. I think that evil is a mis-guided term.

I do believe that people are born with various degrees of all sorts of mental illness. Brain chemistry drives the world.

[BOHICA06]

12. Children must taught ....

manners, sharing, general politeness, not to lie, not to steal, etc. So are they born evil, no ... but without guidance they can easily "do" evil.

And there are those that are wired wrong as a congenital or genetic defect and are beyond standard influence.

[hang a left]

13. I have known a few, but one imparticular, personally.

I think this person definately has, amongst other issues, Narcissistic Personality Disorder, which I have done a little research on. I think it is a product of genetics, and upbringing. Very evil person, absolutely no empathy for anyone, including his children. Calculating, methodical, and very very evil.