Are people GOOD IN NATURE or Bad???

[MORAY37]

my point is the second part of my original post......good in nature, but don't remember good things as well or vividly as they remember bad.....

Depends upon the stimulus, and the reward or cost of the action.  Straightforward psychology.

[Simaril]

This statement, "in general people are good" cannot be balanced logically with empirical data.  Moral relativism, and all.  There is no "good" or "bad".  There is only a cost/benefit analysis of every action.  Sometimes our higher brain overrules our primitive one, sometimes it does not.  There is no correlation of positive or negative in that.  

So with this logic, it would seem that inflaming hatred of a minority racial group in order to unify a entire nation and reestablish economic and political stability would be a net positive.

Is that truly what you believe?

[CAP1]

But, define good, then.  

You can't.  good in nature.

If he runs in "being good" and is killed, the act becomes "bad" for his family and friends, and his genetic line.  This is why we are a mix of selfless and selfish, not good and bad.  And it changes every second of every day.  in this case, his "intention" was good natured.

One day you might help an old lady across the street.  Two hours later, you drive by a guy broken down on the side of the highway without thinking.  You processed the information, and acted in what can be construed as "good" or "bad" by anyone... but there is no such measure.  

And it doesn't matter if any particular action is remembered.  You seem to be stuck on that.  I've personally saved 7 people's lives directly, over the course of my life (heart attacks, chokings and two near drownings).  I've  been thanked once.  Is that good or bad?  It can't be determined.  But, I wasn't looking for recognition, I was honestly challenged by the incidents.  That's why I got involved, not because I was "good".  

your last statement puts you as one of the good ones. when i mention something being remembered, i'm more leaning towards how we see it on tv.
 suppose the heart attack victim you saved had been caught on tape, and broadcast on the local news. it would've gotten about 20 seconds, if that. six months down the road, no one would remember you or the victim. i understand you weren't looking for recognition.
 but change it slighty. you saw the person having a heart attack, and pulled out a bayonette, and lodged it in their head. you and the victim will be remembered for years to come. and that would have made you bad in nature too.

[MORAY37]

your last statement puts you as one of the good ones. when i mention something being remembered, i'm more leaning towards how we see it on tv.
 suppose the heart attack victim you saved had been caught on tape, and broadcast on the local news. it would've gotten about 20 seconds, if that. six months down the road, no one would remember you or the victim. i understand you weren't looking for recognition.
 but change it slighty. you saw the person having a heart attack, and pulled out a bayonette, and lodged it in their head. you and the victim will be remembered for years to come. and that would have made you bad in nature too.

You're just stuck on the relativism.  No act is inherently good or bad.

[grizz441]

my point is the second part of my original post......good in nature, but don't remember good things as well or vividly as they remember bad.....

I wouldn't say that.  I remember events on both sides of the spectra evenly.

[Simaril]

 No act is inherently good or bad.

Genocide?

Are you really saying that is the same as giving all your worldly goods to the poor?

[CAP1]

Depends upon the stimulus, and the reward or cost of the action.  Straightforward psychology.

i help people when i can. i've stopped, and pushed broken down cars out of the middle of the road, before the driver got killed. i've picked up peoples dropped wallets, and handed them back to them(when they didn't realize they had dropped them).

 there was a bad accident on rt 676 about a year ago. it was about 1am. the honda was on it's roof, a chevy on it's side, and the cadi that caused the entire mess was on fire about 50 yards past the other two.

 i think there were about 10 or us that stopped, and just ran to the different cars to try to help the people in them. those helping the people in the chevy got 2 people out, and the three of us helping the people in the honda got the passenger out, but could not move the driver. the driver of the cadi was running around threatening to shoot people.
 the police and fire company got there pretty quickly, and asked us all to step back. that's the only time i can remember ever being in a possibly life saving position.......but there was no possibility of reward. didn't care. was a bad situation, and people needed help, and apparently a few other people thought the same thing.

[CAP1]

I wouldn't say that.  I remember events on both sides of the spectra evenly.

i try to do this too. but the question was "in general", thus my answer was "in general" also. 

[grizz441]

i try to do this too. but the question was "in general", thus my answer was "in general" also. 

Oh.  Well I guess i don't have access to the general population's memory banks to validate your claim.

[CAP1]

Oh.  Well I guess i don't have access to the general population's memory banks to validate your claim.

neither do i. i go by what i see.

[Sonicblu]

Your still arguing over world views. Not good or bad. Good or bad can only be defined within a world view.

The question isn't do we know right or wrong how it gets there.(is it hard wired in)?

The question is are we good or bad natured?

For all the moral relativists out there you would know right or wrong if I took your wallet.

[bagrat]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3bfO1rE7Yg

great vid shida!

[Simaril]

For all the moral relativists out there you would know right or wrong if I took your wallet.

Quoted for truth!

[CAP1]

Your still arguing over world views. Not good or bad. Good or bad can only be defined within a world view.

The question isn't do we know right or wrong how it gets there.(is it hard wired in)?

The question is are we good or bad natured?

For all the moral relativists out there you would know right or wrong if I took your wallet.

yea, 'cause it would be wrong for you to do so....and it would be just as wrong for me to "educate" you on just exactly why that was a mistake. but you would know it would have been right to not touch it. 

[bagrat]

On the topic of moral relativism the thing to keep in mind is rather we like it or not some people believe personally that a particular action is justified. Stealing a wallet is a pretty simple situation, but no body's arguing if stealing is wrong, how about more grayish areas such as abortion (girls who got raped aside).
Not picking either side, but saying here is an example in which some people think it's alright while others think they should never of gotten into the situation in the first place. who's good or bad there?

To the original question, people may do whatever they believe to them is best decision for the situation at hand, but "bad" people don't do things because they want to be bad, they are a product of their environment. If you lived in a bad neighborhood and made enough money to support your family but for some reason continued to get robbed of food, and no longer have what u need to provide for your family, taking that $20 dangling from that mans pocket (though bad)  may seem like a better alternative to having to watch his kids go hungry when you go home. Their action may be the only way they know how to cope or is necessary to survive and the need to survive may drown out the feeling of even caring if the action is right or wrong.
flame on