Is humanity inherently good or evil?

[Solongo]

So counsciousness is good or bad?

Becoming more conscious is probably the only thing that will save humanity in the long run. So it is good

 

[LucyJr]

Becoming more conscious is probably the only thing that will save humanity in the long run. So it is good

so what is good then in your philosophy?

You say becoming more counscious...of what? Becoming more counscious of what?

 

[muir]

so what is good then in your philosophy?

You say becoming more counscious...of what? Becoming more counscious of what?

More conscious of how we are living in a matrix of false perceptions

 

[Solongo]

so what is good then in your philosophy?

You say becoming more counscious...of what? Becoming more counscious of what?

It's not what you become conscious of ...it's the development of consciousness in general. Consciousness is basically a state of being "awake". Awake to who you are as a person, awake to your surroundings, awake to the reality of the world. Awake to your own motivations and desires and being aware of your own ego and overall development or lack of development as a human. The broader your perceptions and understandings; higher your chance of being conscious. Consciousness will always result in following a path of doing good for yourself and others. The opposite of being conscious would include following a paradigm without a question, lack of self exploration of the self thus lack of understanding of other humans. being ruled by only personal desire and ego instant gratification and living from a shallow selfish perspective could be signs of being 'asleep' or just not aware of what is really going on.

Often times journey to become more conscious starts on a personal level of development; desire to improve certain parts of ourselves or just plain curiosity to understand ourselves. This is usually result of people wishing to change something in their lives to increase happiness and overall well being. Once basic consciousness of the self is somewhat developed; the perception moves to our immediate environment and the process continues on to learn more and understand more. Consciousness is always driven by desire to know, learn and grow. It is a naturally expansive habit of humans and continues throughout our lives. The greatest benefit of developing a higher consciousness is that it aligns people to who they really are and not who they supposed to be or outer conditioning that is inauthentic. Seeing the world from this perspective brings more clarity than seeing the world and others from the same old lens that society tells people to see. Higher consciousness also results in spiritual growth; they both go hand in hand.

 

[LucyJr]

More conscious of how we are living in a matrix of false perceptions

so being counscious means having a certain knowledge...that is all?

 

[LucyJr]

It's not what you become conscious of ...it's the development of consciousness in general. Consciousness is basically a state of being "awake". Awake to who you are as a person, awake to your surroundings, awake to the reality of the world. Awake to your own motivations and desires and being aware of your own ego and overall development or lack of development as a human. The broader your perceptions and understandings; higher your chance of being conscious. Consciousness will always result in following a path of doing good for yourself and others. The opposite of being conscious would include following a paradigm without a question, lack of self exploration of the self thus lack of understanding of other humans. being ruled by only personal desire and ego instant gratification and living from a shallow selfish perspective could be signs of being 'asleep' or just not aware of what is really going on.

Often times journey to become more conscious starts on a personal level of development; desire to improve certain parts of ourselves or just plain curiosity to understand ourselves. This is usually result of people wishing to change something in their lives to increase happiness and overall well being. Once basic consciousness of the self is somewhat developed; the perception moves to our immediate environment and the process continues on to learn more and understand more. Consciousness is always driven by desire to know, learn and grow. It is a naturally expansive habit of humans and continues throughout our lives. The greatest benefit of developing a higher consciousness is that it aligns people to who they really are and not who they supposed to be or outer conditioning that is inauthentic. Seeing the world from this perspective brings more clarity than seeing the world and others from the same old lens that society tells people to see. Higher consciousness also results in spiritual growth; they both go hand in hand.

hmmm...this sounds like something I remember. Yeah, I think its "the enlightement". Its a budhistic teaching, but also very popular in the enlightement period around 1600-1670 in Europe, althought at that period with some significant changes.
I have to ask you...this philosophy has anything to do with the "We are all One" philosophy?

 

[muir]

so being counscious means having a certain knowledge...that is all?

I think sol nailed it

 

[Lark]

so being counscious means having a certain knowledge...that is all?

No, I would say it is possessing a good theory of mind, psychological and emotional resilience, heightened awareness or perceptiveness (in a sense other than the MBTI definition I mean here), empathy and habits or norms of critical thinking and insight formation.

That is not all knowledge based, you can come by knowledge of it, its all defined and described in writing, there are some prescriptions for developing it and coping if for some reason you can not or have particular strengths and weaknesses with respect of those traits, although its not just an intellectual exercise. There is more to knowing and full integration than intellectualising or cerebration, there's feeling and affect and emotion to internalisation too.

And all of that is influenced to a great, great extent by physiology, biology, body and neurological chemistry, all of which have their legacies, then culture, climate and environment too.

I personally dont believe that its all going to be down to a personal leap of consciousness, I believe that because social character and context remain overwhelmingly important and I do have a deterministic view on things, even if its soft or weak determinism rather than complete automaton determinism.

 

[Barnabas]

No, I blame the cabbage.

I'm firm in the camp that believes men are born good, if only for a little while.

 

[The_Mysterious_Stranger]

This is the Jean-Jaques Rousseau vs. Thomas Hobbes debate. I don't think there's a clear answer to this question. A lot of behavior depends on IQ, which is 80% genetic. The personality of criminals tend to be extroverted, low contentiousness, high testosterone. Criminals tend to have IQs in the 80-125 range, but mostly low-average range (80-100)For example, the Parkland school sooner had a low IQ (fetal alcohol syndrome). The Sandy Hook shooter was on the autism spectrum and probably had a lower IQ. It also depends on the environment / family environment. As Hobbes and Rousseau have written, conflicts have revolved around envy, resentment, and other negative emotions. If nations like the US invest in organizations like Planned Parenthood, people are more likely to be raised to be good people / citizens.

Last, what is "good" or "evil" largely has to do with the culture, thus moral relativism.

 

[David54]

Since there is not collective consciousness, society can't be either. Good/ evil are individual traits or actions as perceived by others. Society can collectively decide what is permissible, but it can not define good or evil. those are philosophical concepts

 

[Siku]

Personally, the very existence of good vs evil is in fact degrading to human potential. I see it as an excuse for one's behavior and/or ego when they need a mirror placed in front of them to self-reflect. Or they treat either as a reward to grant themselves something in return. And to wear either like it's a badge that should be admired is common place and entirely missing the point! Good should be humble. Not in the spotlight nor worshiped. Evil should be banished and not seen as superior or a way to dodge consequences and blame for one's actions. Those who do things in the dark are weak, those right in the face, strong. Light will always be stronger than the dark which is why the dark has to always be sneaky but never wise.

I consider that a power struggle of energies, not necessarily good and evil. Wicca comes to mind for those that have a healthy balance at times. Positivity is divine energy (light). Negativity (dark) is long and buried energy that is still bound to the earth. We are still wearing the weight of our past that isn't even our fault and it spreads like cancer as we no longer are capable of feeling our spiritual selves to feel the sensitivity and difference (energy and spiritual awareness). It's heart-breaking. So imho, humanity are divine creatures by nature that is purposely being held back.

Right vs wrong seems better suited in this and is obviously subjective (to a point) but there's the underlining that exists in today's society no matter the IQ. Ex - A person with down-syndrome or is mentally challenged are often the most unconditionally loving people you'll ever meet! So, whomever said that IQ was a factor I whole heartedly disagree with. Children as well are less likely to do 'evil' acts, just childish ones over jealously or lust which again, are etched in from society and pop culture.

The less fortunate and discarded will sometimes act out in anguish or liberation, is that considered a evil act? It is more often than not, the unloved or unlucky finally waking themselves up and pushing back. We can all go on and on subjectively about the topic but to humour this I will say that my stance is; Humans are born good. Not evil. Have you witnessed a child who does not cry at birth? Fear and Love come from the same place. You cannot muster up both, that should be your proof right there. A clean slate aligns with 'good' to me.

A more recent perfect example - The movie, "Joker". If you watched it, you'll know where I'm coming from. Even one of the most well known fictional villains of all time was recently written beautifully as to how he came to be. There's the loved and there's the unloved. Everyone copes differently without it over time. But everyone is born with it. Depends on if the fear-mongering of this world and the insensitivity of others' gets a-hold over your heart and turns it cold.

No matter who you are, if you know how to count or read even the slightest. You know right and wrong! No excuses, suffer your own consequences and take in your own guilt and karmic justice over time! This is precisely why the rich stay the rich but also feel the most dead in side because they turned cold just to be on top. Not because of a devil. They cheated, and cheating gets you nothing in life but a extremely large house and materialism beyond measure but a empty heart and soul. There's always a give and take that doesn't require good vs evil. Just common sense.

 

[Ren]

I don't think humanity is inherently good or evil, because I believe in free will. And free will is the capacity to do either good or evil, on a certain definition.

I might commit to the idea that there are certain inherently good or evil actions, but even that is debatable.