Human Nature - Page 2

Originally posted by: PhoeniXof_Hades

^^ How about Ralph? I am yet to go through Sparknotes or any other literary sources in the net, but it was a fascinating read no wonder...

Ralph is like the average man. He weighs in all aspects and finds his way.

Is the book optimistic or pessimistic about human nature?

Optimists say Ralph survives and is saved. Ultimately civilization finds a way.

I say its pessimistic. Spirituality and civilization is killed. Even when Ralph is saved from one manhunt, he just goes to another manhunt aboard a warship.

Originally posted by: gopalbhai

My personal opinion has always been that so called good nature is due to the rules and norms laid down by the society. Without basic directive of good or bad being put into the human mind, there will not be any human like behavior at all. If basic human nature is good, then we should leave a baby in an island and allow to grow to an adult and see if he fares any better than an animal. We can also observe the existing primitive isolated groups and see that they tend to be violent and do things not considered good by civilized wold. I think the idea of basic human nature might have come from the fact that babies and children seem to be innocent and they seem to develop the bad qualities later. But then the need and desires also are developed with physical and mental development as the grow.

Originally posted by: return_to_hades

"Man is born free, but found everywhere in chains"

Sadly, those lines by Rousseau are all I recollect from my Lord of The Flies paper. It was dark, it was sordid, but it was kick ass. Even the teacher said so, not in those words but in good grades and high praise.

Spark notes does a good job with symbolism from the book. However, to add my take. We are all hunting the beast. Everyone of us is following Jack, because there is a beast out there and it will get us until we do something about it. Cut the pig. Slit her throat. Spill her blood. The funny thing is there really is no beast. The beast is all in our heads. As humans we are free, our spirits and souls are free. However, we chain ourselves down with the beast of our mind. And that is human nature.

Its about time someone told us 'The cake is a lie'

Originally posted by: StarshineHues

Awesome post V !!

You know, there's this quote by Stephen King, "Monsters are real, and ghosts are real too. They live inside us, and sometimes, they win." I think the social institutions we have in place basically exist to prevent these ghosts/monsters inside us from winning too often. I think inherently, every human-being knows the difference b/w good and bad, moral and immoral. But sometimes, we become short-sighted and tend to lose track. The social institutions, in my opinion, exist to enforce what we already know, and to make sure we don't stray too often or for too long.

Originally posted by: moviebuff05

Well I think it works both ways.....coz without rules, ethics and morals in place...there would just be a very free society with no control...and too much control...would surmount to dictatorship...its all about the balance...and that is a very hard thing to acheive...I for one...appreciate the rules being in place...because in this world/society of people with myriad of emotions nature ...and temptations...restraint is a good thing....in balance.

Awesome😃

Originally posted by: TazzyA

It's an interesting topic yaar, i've always been a muslim and follow islam quite vigourously. but in regards to your question on human nature, i think that people have a choice, yes okay religion and ethics provide a foundation for us to follow, but it does not out-rule the act of free will. People can often choose the path of bad inspite of being raised in a moraly-driven family with good values. in my POV it depends on how the person themselves choose to live their life, we all have choices and in making those choices we set a pave stone in our life, at times its difficult to know which decision to make but ther is always a distinctive deffierence between the right and wrong, thus people have it in their hands to decide. hope i made sense 😆 basically we may have free will, but it doesn not atone for the bad deeds we may do, even those brought up in pristigeiously religious and ethical families go astray. x

Originally posted by: PhoeniXof_Hades

I agree with the latter part of your post. I don't see how babies are oh-so-innocent. They can, at best, be called neutral. Granted that they aren't evil, but their brains aren't developed enough to allow or entertain any negative - or positive on that case - thoughts that the adult brains can.

However, I do believe that human beings have a sense of morality that is independent of the cultural or social norms or their respective religious beliefs. The society does play a very significant part here; but I do think human morality or ethics goes beyond our social norms or beliefs. As for the bolded, I have been curious about that too. Has there been any studies done on that? We know about ethnic or indigenous groups, but what about an individual being brought up by himself alone and no one else? What happens to his sense of morality then? What about his religious or theological beliefs?

Originally posted by: supercool3

Ok, I can definitely agree that people can choose whatever path they want, and not necessarily have to follow what their families or society lays out for them. But you said that people can even choose the path of bad. Soo.. in a way society still sees it as something wrong to do if the main foundations or requirements of each individual is not followed properly. But the question is.. did the bad exist from before... or did society create it?

it's not really a battle between right versus wrong... it's just more of if these right and wrong differences were created due to the social institutions or did they exist before that.. like i said in my topic.. did it corrupt a good human nature.. or tame an evil one

I think morality is concerned with ideals....how you should be, wht you should be.... Therefore, morality is basically condemning.....n I think every morality is guilt creating...U can never become the ideal... you are always lagging behind....ideal is there in the future, and you are here as you are, and you go on comparing. You are never the perfect man or women... something is always lacking....cos every morality creates hypocrisy...A child is born in a society, and a society is already there with its fixed rules, regulations, behaviors and moralities which the child has to learn. when he will grow he will becom false.... Then children will be born to him, and he will help make them false, and this goes on and on. What to do? We cannot change the society. Or if we try to change the society, we will not be there when the society will be changed... It will take an eternity of time.😊