But is this true? Are humans born with an inherent disposition of being evil? Or is it because of society that humans fall prey to temptation?
This makes me think of William Golding's novel, Lord of the Flies. A group of British boys get stranded on an island and within a few days they become savages. In my English class, we discussed whether or not this is because of some sort of inherent evilness within all humans or was it because these boys had to do what they had to do in order to survive, even if it meant killing each other. This begs the question, was it nature or was it nurture?
During my senior year of high school, I watched a family friend's baby grow from a baby into a toddler. As a baby, when she didn't receive what she wanted she would cry and pout. But as a little toddler, when I took away something that she wanted she would hit me. This made me wonder how did a little toddler barely 2 and a half years old knew to hit me when I didn't give her what she wanted. Did she learn that? Turns out she had learned it from her older sister. But then where did her sister learn it? Certainly her parents wouldn't have taught her to hit others. Does this mean that no matter how good or innocent a person is deep down there is a beast within all of us just waiting to emerge?
The example of "The Lord of the Flies" is really great! I find your questions come with deep thought. I personally lean towards the idea we are inherently born innocent but with learned experiences, adapt to our environment which in some cases can be very abrasive and aggressive. This idea is becoming especially more prevalent as we study childhood development in class. Overall, I really like your thoughts and thank you for sharing your experiences! :)