Egocentric View Of Human Nature: Good Or Evil?

Human Nature: Good or Evil? Is human nature to be good or evil, selfish or kind? Humans are biologically predisposed to have an egocentric perspective in order to survive. Does this selfishness make us “evil”? In simple words, no, but nothing is ever “simple”. Evil occurs when this egotism over rights other people’s physical, mental and/or emotional safety. In other words, someone becomes evil when they become corrupt and abusive. Evil is defined by Oxford Dictionaries as “profound immorality and wickedness, especially in people’s actions”. There is often the misconception that psychopaths are evil as they lack a moral conscience and are generally represented as serial killers and violent criminals in the entertainment world. They lack a
This ideology led him to believe that people were equal and had a natural ability to govern themselves and look after the well-being of a society. His beliefs were highly centered on the importance of free and autonomous inquiry. I agree with Locke’s beliefs as human beings are animals and animals show an instinctual inclination to choose good over evil without reason. Humans do however have the ability to reason, as natural law theories hold that human beings are subject to a moral law. Every day, from the moment we wake up, we subconsciously have to decide if we will do what is known as “right” or “wrong” and as said previously, “just because you’ve done bad things it, doesn’t mean you’re a bad person.” And in every day instances, we observe how people not only know right from wrong within themselves but have a natural urge to help other and cooperate. A developmental psychologist, Dr. Michael Tomasello, writes in his book “Why We Cooperate” that “when infants 18 months old see an unrelated adult whose hands are full and needs assistance opening a door or picking up a dropped clothespin, they will immediately help”, manifesting humans natural kindness over our
This idea was derived from his belief that people are essentially selfish and equal, and this equality leads to competition and violence. Therefore, he believed that the best form of government would be an absolute monarchy, and that a democracy would never work. I do not agree with Hobbes ideas because although no government (or person) is “perfect”, democracy has proven to be a very effective and throughout history most absolute monarchies have fallen, until present where only 7 absolute monarchies persist and 192 democratic nations. A democracy barometer from the University of Zurich and the Social Science Research Center Berlin (WZB) showed the development of thirty of the best democracies in the world, the three of highest quality being Denmark, Finland, and Belgium. Additionally, these governments also rank the highest in all forms of government. A further reason for which I disagree with Hobbes is because if everyone is as selfish and is driven by a “perpetual and restless desire [for] power, that ceases only in death,” and is in a “war of all against all”, wouldn’t an absoute monarch (secretly) be in a war against their own