In most communities and academic centers
The idea of what is good and what is evil has vanished. Of course, academics and society have not ignored the ethical side of the issue; instead, they have only avoided commenting on what good morals mean. In most people's day-to-day lives, they prefer to do what they are interested in and avoid the rational implications of problems. Hobbes thus believes that human nature is motivated by a restless and perpetual need for power. In certain cases, they are mostly expressed in the form of interests. Based on the fact that one's doing is driven by his or her interests, many people tend to be selfish or self-centered, which the community perceives to be evil (Alford 26).
Evil as a Powerful Word
In this way, one can say that the word 'Evil' is a powerful word since it affects others. Whenever one is said to be evil, one often develops bad impressions of the person. However, there is no measure for the degree of evil, but Adolph Hitler is considered the most evil man who ever existed. In nature, humans are born naturally good but as a result of their day-to-day circumstances, for instance, civilization, most of them end up being bad. Therefore, this paper seeks to discuss the influence of society and government in their role shape people character to be good.
Discussion
The Role of Authorities and Government
To begin with, it is important to mention that authorities including the government play a vital role in shaping one's morals. The society also has an expectation for each person. As a result of balancing the needs of these two, one can either find himself or herself indulging in acts that the community or the government find to be bad. According to Hobbes, people are often born with good morals, and according to him, the government alongside other institutions brings about other factors like civilization which makes one indulge in wrongdoings. This ideology is contrary to Grant's reasoning, which he believes that humans are naturally evil. In these two instances, the need for governance to shape one's conduct is emphasized. However, Grant goes an extra mile to justify his reasoning. He posits that humans always have little trust amongst themselves that they can trust any with their lives or wealth. As a result, they end up giving up their freedom for the sake of protection. He further goes ahead to give examples where he mentions that there could be no reason to close doors if everyone trusts each other (Grant 71).
The Fitness Theory
Conversely, Grant supports his thinking using the fitness theory. According to this theory, the pleasure of doing wrong is to hurt others and bring about remorse. Based on circumstances, people indulge in wrongdoings to survive or be comfortable (Grant 76). From this point of view, one can deduce that wrongdoings are attributes of selfishness or being self-centeredness. The same ideology can also be manifested with a twin in a mother's womb. The doctor often conducts studies using the MRI to analyze twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome, where one twin may siphon blood away from the other until the other twin dies or is miscarried. These accounts are instances that indicate that humans are evil and are born evil.
Teaching Children Good Morals
It is perhaps with no excuse to teach children good morals if people are not bad. The notion is that children are bad in nature and need to be taught good morals for them to be good. Taking an example from Golding's book named Lord of the Flies, one can see that the characters were scared after they had a plane crashed (Golding 81). They kept on developing tension as they became stranded until they lost their innocence. One can see that their integrity started to vanish from the slaughter for a pig until it shifted to people. At first, Simon was killed in the festivity dance then the pig with a rock. The story in this book accounts for the way one would appropriately act in a new environment. This concedes Froese's article The Art of Becoming Human: Morality in Kant and Confucius where he posits that morality will never be realized correctly. If one could quickly achieve it, then it could not exist. Therefore, he perceived morality as a mirage where one believes he can see it and yet he or she cannot. This implies that one may think of himself or herself to possess an idea of morality, but that may not be the case (Froese 85).
Studies in Babies
Nevertheless, studies in babies indicate that humans are naturally good despite the fact that the results were inconclusive. For instance, the article entitled The Biology of Morality: Human Development and Moral Neuroscience by Melanie and Judith Smetana examines the cognitive and psychopathy defects of humans to determine the way people do reason. Another research by Fred (97) on moral development indicates that moral verdicts are not reached quickly; one has to think much, and in the process, immoral features may improve when making a judgment. However, this is not a valid argument since babies' brains are not entirely developed. Thus, one may not use these studies to justify whether humans are bad or evil right from birth (Melanie 93).
Conclusion
In conclusion, people are born with good morals, but they are shaped by other factors to be bad if not being evil. The government, among other authorities, holds the mandate to correct such individuals. Therefore, children need to be taught to be good as per the fitness theory to fit into the society. Based on these assumptions, it is better to understand what humans are other than just indulging in arguments that may lack proper evidence. Even though some results match one's expectations, it is beyond doubt that human beings are driven by a relentless and perpetual desire for power. Therefore, the earlier one accepts that people are vulnerable to circumstances which may shape people's interests and, in the long run, tell if one is evil or not. This, therefore, implies that children are born with good morals, but later their morals are shaped by factors of civilization. In the long run, human morals, based on pragmatic approaches, are often reduced to personal desires and preferences. By virtue that morality is associated with unconscious genetic testimonies, one can infer that human freedom and responsibilities are based on normative pressures. Thus, one can make assumptions that humans are either bad or good based on the concept of objectivity.
Works Cited
Alford, C. Fred. "Chapter 2 Evil Is Pleasure in Hurting and Lack of Remorse." What Evil Means to Us. Ithaca: Cornell UP, 1997. 21-34. Print.
Froese, Katrin. "The Art of Becoming Human: Morality in Kant and Confucius." Dao : A Journal of Comparative Philosophy 7.3 (2008): 257-68. ProQuest. Web. 23 July 2015.
Golding, William. Lord of the Flies: A Novel. Educational ed. London: Faber and Faber, 2012. Print.
Grant, S. "Humans Are Naturally Evil." Listverse. Listverse, 22 May 2013. Web. 23 July 2015.
Killen, Melanie, and Judith Smetana. "The Biology of Morality: Human Development and Moral Neuroscience." Human Development 50.5 (2007): 241-3. ProQuest. Web. 23 July 2015.
