[Guest]

Here's something to think about. It is in our nature to do bad things, but we have been brought up to do good. This goes against our nature, so why do we do good things if we truly want to be bad?

[Guest]

Why do you think it's not "in our nature" to also want to do good things?

[Guest]

Why do you think it's not "in our nature" to also want to do good things?

BECAUSE WE ARE BEING WAYCHED......jk. I posted this so i can kinnd of get and awnser to this. I am very curious.

Anywho, the thing that drives us to do good is the strongest and most powerful feeling that we have, GUILT. Many people try to overcome this feeling of guilt because it contradicts out nature.

[akaslickster]

Here's something to think about. It is in our nature to do bad things, but we have been brought up to do good. This goes against our nature, so why do we do good things if we truly want to be bad?

We don't want to be bad, we want everything perfect for ourselves but that was not meant to be. I was brought up good too but when you're bad it usually has a reason of its own. I do good things to be good and never had been bad without a reason. Good or bad you live & learn.

[Guest]

BECAUSE WE ARE BEING WAYCHED......jk. I posted this so i can kinnd of get and awnser to this. I am very curious.

Anywho, the thing that drives us to do good is the strongest and most powerful feeling that we have, GUILT. Many people try to overcome this feeling of guilt because it contradicts out nature.

Who's watching you? God? If you believe that then it may be hard to determine whether you are motivated by guilt, fear, or a selfish desire to go to heaven.

As an atheist I believe nothing of the sort and am free to choose my actions for my own reasons. My experience of this is that I have no particular desire to be a "bad" person. For one thing, we are social animals and therefore derive a lot of satisfaction from being good to each other. I suppose that's the carrot that corresponds to the "guilt" stick, but that is our nature.

I also view morality as a choice. You can choose to be "bad" (I use inverted commas because the words "good" and "bad" imply absolute morality, which I don't agree with). If you make that choice, your actions will affect you in all sorts of ways. People find out about stuff you did or said, and there is always the guilt to deal with. Maybe you can become a master of deception to convince others that you are a better person than you really are. But dishonest people always get into the habit of deceiving themselves and end up losing their own perspective on life. What matters most in life is love, which requires trust. If you are a "bad" or dishonest person, no wise person will ever trust you, and you will be unable to trust others. So bad actions inevitably degrade you, even when nobody finds out about them.

As a strategy in life, being "bad" simply doesn't work (as I say, I don't like the word "bad", I tend to just think of it as being "unwise"). People sometimes think it does because they see injustices going unpunished in isolated situations, but they do not see the wider implications of how it affects the people involved. I wouldn't say I believe in karma in some mystical sense, but it is quite marvellous the extent to which people get what they deserve, and often in the most unexpected ways.

[Guest]

the reason the human race became what it is today is that we were the most crazy apes if another ape was evolving we would just go ahead and kill it. also we would kill the things we evolved from because if they made us why couldn't they make something 10 times better which would thusly kill us.

we were born knowing through instinct that says eat, poo, sleep, mate and stop anything that gets in your way.

this is what we were born knowing but as the human race has evolved we have learnt how to do the stop any one that gets in your way part in a much more peacful way by using polotics and law.

But when people say i just saw red that is when we go back to a basic instincs.

but as a christian i think that we are all born to do good, and that we are just turned to evil.

but who decides what evil is cavemen didn't think it was to kill one another

but i think everyone on this forum would say that a muderer is evil.

so i ask you this, what decides your view on good and evil? ecspeccialy if you are an athiest because there are no rules that you are bound to

[unreality]

a murderer is not "evil". In fact, there are no such things as "good" and "evil" in the real world. Think about it... the notions do not really exist. Nobody is "evil". Does that make everyone "good" then? It doesn't really matter. There is no absolute morality. We, as animals, do what we want to help ourselves. Even if we are helping someone else with no gain for us, there's still gain for us, because we want to help that person. Every single action we do, we wanted to do that action under the circumstances. You might say "what if someone was holding a gun to your head to hand them something". You want to hand them it, cuz you don't want your brains blown out. Or if an old lady needs help with the groceries, you help her because it makes YOU feel good, it gives YOU satisfaction, because you know you helped someone else. See what I mean? We do everything that we do for our own gain, in a way. We do what we want, considering all the cirumstances at the moment that we know about

I agree with absolutely everything octopuppy said in this quote: (probably cuz we think very alike on most subjects)

Who's watching you? God? If you believe that then it may be hard to determine whether you are motivated by guilt, fear, or a selfish desire to go to heaven.

As an atheist I believe nothing of the sort and am free to choose my actions for my own reasons. My experience of this is that I have no particular desire to be a "bad" person. For one thing, we are social animals and therefore derive a lot of satisfaction from being good to each other. I suppose that's the carrot that corresponds to the "guilt" stick, but that is our nature.

I also view morality as a choice. You can choose to be "bad" (I use inverted commas because the words "good" and "bad" imply absolute morality, which I don't agree with). If you make that choice, your actions will affect you in all sorts of ways. People find out about stuff you did or said, and there is always the guilt to deal with. Maybe you can become a master of deception to convince others that you are a better person than you really are. But dishonest people always get into the habit of deceiving themselves and end up losing their own perspective on life. What matters most in life is love, which requires trust. If you are a "bad" or dishonest person, no wise person will ever trust you, and you will be unable to trust others. So bad actions inevitably degrade you, even when nobody finds out about them.

As a strategy in life, being "bad" simply doesn't work (as I say, I don't like the word "bad", I tend to just think of it as being "unwise"). People sometimes think it does because they see injustices going unpunished in isolated situations, but they do not see the wider implications of how it affects the people involved. I wouldn't say I believe in karma in some mystical sense, but it is quite marvellous the extent to which people get what they deserve, and often in the most unexpected ways.

Edited May 12, 2008 by unreality

[Guest]

I agree with above. Its in our upbringing that we are brought on that "good" is right but in fact there is no good or evil, just opinions, preferences and morality.

I would have to say, I'd prefer to live in a world where everyone had the presumption that you were supposed to be good and only run into the 5-10% that disagreed.