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In the last seventy-five years or so I think there has been an increasing effort to view evil as a medical issue in an effort to understand and possibly ameliorate it. But so far, short of incarceration, there has been no progress in developing a cure for the psychopathic mind.
The overwhelming majority of mentally ill people are not violent on the scope or scale we see in the mass murder type.
It's difficult for a person of generous spirit to conceive of a disorder which doesn't respond to kindness and reward. Or a disorder that doesn't respond to punishment and deprivation. That's the state of psychopathy.
It appears to be some kind of neurological damage which is not yet well understood. It can be worsened by abuse in childhood but not improved by love.
My stance is that the world would be a lot better place if we all treated each other with respect regardless of what we think of their opinions, behavior or condition. Unfortunately kindness would be wasted on people who are unable to emotionally benefit from it. In fact, as others have mentioned, treating a psychopath with kindness could put you in a position of serious vulnerability.
Two good references for a better understanding of those seemingly intractable evil, or sick, people among us are:
The Mask of Sanity by Hervey M. Cleckley and Inside the Criminal Mind by Dr. Stanton E. Samenow
In the last seventy-five years or so I think there has been an increasing effort to view evil as a medical issue in an effort to understand and possibly ameliorate it. But so far, short of incarceration, there has been no progress in developing a cure for the psychopathic mind.
The overwhelming majority of mentally ill people are not violent on the scope or scale we see in the mass murder type.
It's difficult for a person of generous spirit to conceive of a disorder which doesn't respond to kindness and reward. Or a disorder that doesn't respond to punishment and deprivation. That's the state of psychopathy.
It appears to be some kind of neurological damage which is not yet well understood. It can be worsened by abuse in childhood but not improved by love.
My stance is that the world would be a lot better place if we all treated each other with respect regardless of what we think of their opinions, behavior or condition. Unfortunately kindness would be wasted on people who are unable to emotionally benefit from it. In fact, as others have mentioned, treating a psychopath with kindness could put you in a position of serious vulnerability.
Two good references for a better understanding of those seemingly intractable evil, or sick, people among us are:
The Mask of Sanity by Hervey M. Cleckley and Inside the Criminal Mind by Dr. Stanton E. Samenow
I'll add to those book recommendations, The Sociopath Next Door, by Martha Stout, phd. An excellent read; delves into a lot of questions that many have posed here. Confirmed much of what I already gathered, but also gave more insight.
Well, so you think that someone who is treated with nothing but kindness will still do all of this? Maybe some would, but I don't think most would. It would be an interesting experiment. If we treated even the worst with nothing but goodness and kindness, to see if things would improve. I wouldn't be surprised if they would. Practised a large scale 'turning the other cheek.'
I think what would be important in this experiment is the expectations of the experimenters. Are the people being nice so others will be as well? At what point do we consider a person good? I would not equate that with having a deep down belief that everyone is good. In other words, I would not consider that person good.
Often times, when a person has done wrong, a known or unknown boundary has been crossed. Depending on the wrong doer's ability (or inability) to perceive the boundary, we either let it be known directly, indirectly or not at all (turn the other cheek). It is in this area that I think kindness or assumption of goodness has the most impact. Unfortunately, the boundary has to be crossed first. The wrong has to happen.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Leizar
My current opinion is that a person does not start innately good or evil, we start neutral and that it's what we do most of, either good actions or evil actions, that determines our alignment, and what we do is influenced by what we know or believe.
So if a person had the right kind of knowledge, they would make the right kind of decisions that lead to the right kind of 'good' behavior and actions. a person lacking the right kind of knowledge would resort to beliefs, which can very often lead to making bad decisions that lead to wrong behavior and actions.
I think that if bad acting people were offered the right education and were shown good examples from others to follow, the world would be a much better place. but if all they were given was punishment and if all the examples they were shown from others were of hatred or disrespect, they would most likely continue to make bad decisions that affect the world around them.
Perhaps. Would we all dress the same? Act the same?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Memphis1979
No, I don't believe it would.
The fact that humans are predators, is undeniable. It is in our very natural state that we lie, push, steal, kill, and do everything that humans find down right distasteful.
Everyone isn't good deep down, in fact it is the opposite. Deep down, we are all killers. Killing may be good or bad, depending on which side of the bullet you are on, but we are killers. For us to move beyond our impression of evil when we meet people, it would mean acceptance of some basic human behaviors which society has deemed inappropriate.
I believe we are capable of killing but we are not all killers. There are people who have been killed in the past and those who will be killed in the future. They were killed by a killer.
I believe we are capable of killing but we are not all killers. There are people who have been killed in the past and those who will be killed in the future. They were killed by a killer.
Humans are an Apex predator on this planet. Its how we got to number one on the food chain, its how we stay number one on the food chain.
We are all killers, every man, woman, and child are born with a killers instinct, every one of us.
The OP was about treating other humans kindly, other humans who are at the top of the food chain.
No the idea was, would the world be better off if we treated everyone as being "good" deep down inside.
My point is that since we are all born killers, we are all "not good" deep down inside. We are in fact killers, and much like tigers in vegas shows and lions at the zoo, every now and then, they revert back to their animal instinct.
Whether or not you see your killer instinct as inherently good, or inherently evil, is up to you.
No the idea was, would the world be better off if we treated everyone as being "good" deep down inside.
My point is that since we are all born killers, we are all "not good" deep down inside. We are in fact killers, and much like tigers in vegas shows and lions at the zoo, every now and then, they revert back to their animal instinct.
Whether or not you see your killer instinct as inherently good, or inherently evil, is up to you.
You are right about the OP. I was thinking of this post instead.
Quote:
Originally Posted by The Postman
Well, so you think that someone who is treated with nothing but kindness will still do all of this? Maybe some would, but I don't think most would. It would be an interesting experiment. If we treated even the worst with nothing but goodness and kindness, to see if things would improve. I wouldn't be surprised if they would. Practised a large scale 'turning the other cheek.'
I don't see my killer instinct as good or evil, it is natural and necessary to survive. However, we want to coexist at the top of the food chain and in order to do this we have to trust other people up to a point. There are people we trust more than others.
Now I don't like the terms "good" and "bad" because I think they are for children. But I believe we label "good" to the people we trust and "bad" to those that we don't trust at all. As you said, its about survival.
Do you think the world would be a better place if everyone operated under the assumption that we're all 'good' deep down? As opposed to thinking some are evil to the bone, or irredeemably evil? Why or why not?
Through history, much violence and evil has been motivated by so-called 'righteous anger' against an objection of fear or loathing. While I'm not denying evil exists, do we tend to personalise evil more than we should, instead of seeing it more like a disease? What if we saw evil people more as victims as well?
Most definitely yes, the world would be a better place. It's our reactions to people which make people who they are.
And sure, sometimes it wouldn't work with some. But overall, it would work.
The thing is, it's our system which breeds bad people. If a person is starving and no one is helping (but just treats him kindly when meeting him), it won't really help the person to survive. His natural instincts for survival may kick in and force him to steal if he doesn't see a choice.
Humans are an Apex predator on this planet. Its how we got to number one on the food chain, its how we stay number one on the food chain.
We are all killers, every man, woman, and child are born with a killers instinct, every one of us.
No, we are not born killers. We are born with an ability to calculate our options and to find a solution for survival. Whether one has to kill in order to survive depends on what opportunities for survival exist besides killing.
So our ability is not to kill no matter what. Our ability is to figure out the best way to survive. And as our evolution progresses, we learn that killing is not necessary in order to survive. And in fact, it's more beneficial for our survival to make peace with our communities.
No, we are not born killers. We are born with an ability to calculate our options and to find a solution for survival. Whether one has to kill in order to survive depends on what opportunities for survival exist besides killing.
So our ability is not to kill no matter what. Our ability is to figure out the best way to survive. And as our evolution progresses, we learn that killing is not necessary in order to survive. And in fact, it's more beneficial for our survival to make peace with our communities.
Hi LoveWisdom. I agree. I think a better description would be that humans are not perfectly good or perfectly bad.
When I was taught what things I should be afraid of and not afraid of, I realized that many conflicts I had in the past could be resolved in a better manner, that is, by assuming that people were good. That didn't make me weaker but smarter. In fact, assuming that people were bad made me scared, mean, suspicious, which placed me in a weaker position. The problem was that I didn't realize how weak I made myself even though I put on a tough act.
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