Gather here to chat about your day & have fun with all your Imzy friends!
For real this time.
Do you think people tend toward inherently 'good', 'bad,' or something in between? And why?
I realize this opens the question of, well, who defines what is good and bad? That's why I've put quotes there! Feel free to talk about this too :)




I think people act lots of ways in different situations but that most are inherently good hearted.
I love you, man.
I could use more of this thinking in my head.
<3 for all!
When I walk about the world with this optimistic view, I do tend to have better interactions. I used to be more pessimistic. Now I try to view it as, most people aren't striving toward bad I also try to treat people with kindness no matter what. Unless it is a distinctly threatening situation.
That's a good way to look at it. All action has a reason behind it. Some trigger. Might not be a good action. A reason or trigger doesn't take away from a person's responsibility for the action (generally speaking).
We become more like the people we spend time with.
If you're positive the people you spend time with will become more positive.
Mirror neurons!!!??
Neural Plasticity
@Eilis and @TheLizardQueen you're both right.
This is why we must choose who to spend time with wisely.
I have a saying you may enjoy.
If I loan someone $20 and they disappear without the intention to ever pay me back it was the best $20 I ever spent.
that's a good one!!
I agree with Eilis. That's a good one. :)
Got to go on a walk. This is a good talk!!! I will come back later to be sure to read all the answers :)
Or you could do what I do and Imzy while you walk. :)
Have a good walk, Eilis!
i need a treadmill! :) almost on the way to walk....
I should probably walk outside more. :)
it is nice but there are more things to deal with. sunscreen, bugs, heat and cold :)
It's time!!!
that was surprising
That WAS surprising.
Yeah if it wasn't for sunscreen, bugs, heat, and cold, outside would be WONDERFUL.
Except redditors, right???
Actually, I know redditor are kind hearted. That's why we started imzy
Imzy: For the kind hearted.
I like that /kindness shout out.
I won't touch on the subjective meanings of "good" or "bad" because I haven't had coffee today.
I suppose I view it as people simply ARE, and that if they act bad/wrong without knowing something is bad/wrong they themselves are not bad/wrong. However if someone does the bad/wrong with the knowledge that it is a bad/wrong thing to do then they are a bad/wrong person.
As soon as we bring the subjective nature of good and bad into play though all bets are off.
I try not to think too much about it. It hurts my head.
Yeah, now that you mention it, there are absolute bad things.
Intentionally inflicting pain or suffering on people is bad.
There are bad people, and some people do bad things.
I have to agree. I'm not sure whether anyone could ever say they are 'born' this way, but those people do bad things.
I do agree that intentionally causing another to suffer would be bad, but is that my personal bias? What if it was self defense or you were being forced to do so OR more dramatic example what if you were born into a culture where hurting others was not viewed as bad. Is it still bad? Are they still bad?
Now my head hurts :)
I'm good at that. Too many psychology and philosophy courses in College.
Short answer is: There are of course exceptions but even if forced or defending yourself there's badness in malice and sadism.
And most bad actions do not fall under the exceptions of defense or being forced.
Most bad actions are willful bad choices that lack empathy for what other people feel.
hehehehe. I guess the main question is then, is somebody raised without a social climate more likely to do what we think of as 'good' or 'bad'. But to be raised in society is part of what makes us human in so many ways, I don't think even an observation of this would answer the question. I read a history book in which this 'child of the woods' from the 1800s or something was rescued and did not behave 'properly'. But I don't remember it saying the kid did anything particularly evil once rescued. Just had no sense of 'decorum'
If you have zero empathy, are you bad-- or just broken?
Depends on the measure of "normal empathy" I suppose. I studied Criminality extensively (my major) and a lot of our meaures for things like psychopathy are flawed. And don't even get me started on the DSM for psychological disorders.
Wow! That is so cool! I find that stuff so interesting. What other kinds of things were your favorite from that major?
Zero empathy is broken.
But that can lead to committing bad acts.
It hurts my head too :)
Coffee!
I like the idea that people simply 'are', though.
Some people certainly "are".
But I'm not sure all people are.
Well this also opens the question for what is good or bad as well as how we view these things and wether or not a good or bad thing, if it has different results long term is still good or bad.
However I think that a majority of people's actions are "bad" actions, or rather an action that has a large number of negative results that the person was or should have been aware of at the time of an action.
i wonder if there used to be a time when people were like 'what feels good is good!' and how that worked out.
Well I'm guessing they based that only off their own feelings, in which case, I can't imagine very good.
I think people tend to be selfish. The good news however is that people eventually learn that a happy community is key to their own happiness. Thus people become good by virtue of their selfishness.
That is....... haha, uplifting and not at the same time!
You can usually count on someone's self interest.
Usually. :)
The cynic in me that there is no truly selfless act. If you give money to charity, its so you can get the feeling of self satisfaction of having done so.
Which isn't to say you shouldn't give money to charity. As a society, we've managed to hack the selfish nature of humanity to take satisfaction in bettering society (or lose satisfaction from knowing they didn't better society), but ultimately every action anyone takes is still done to maximize their own sense of self satisfaction.
I think it's okay to incentivize good actions. :)
Thanks for the thoughtful answer!
I try not to think of it this way too often :D though I think there is definite truth to it.
Yeah, totally. I think its good that we feel good about ourselves when we do a "selfless" act. I just think people don't stop being selfish, they just reevaluate their own internal satisfaction so that acts society sees as selfless are rewarded. So from society's perspective, they cease to be selfish, but internally its all the same.
Well said.
I'm all for selfish /kindness for what it's worth.
Being kind is the ultimate self interest.
I think there is no objective "good" or "bad", so this is a hard question to answer. I think people tend toward selfish preservation.
@TheLizardQueen probably agrees with you, I think! People simply are. The difference being you have a motivation in place for them!
That sounds about right .
My experience tells me that everything is what we call good. It is not something that compares to anything else. It is the one thing that is everything and to which nothing can be compared. Good, and many other ideas flow from love and that is what the entire thing is made of. Even George w bush.
Only humans can be inhumane.
inhumanity makes me very upset. especially with animals! or helpless / innocent beings.
You and me both, Eilis.
You and me both.
we've made it so, so far without any giphys. hooray! ;)
I'm walking on a treadmill trying my best to behave myself. :)
:)
So far so good.
Treadmill is good for willpower. Keeps me from eating chocolate while I walk too. :)
keep up the good work! :)
Thank you Eilis.
It's surprisingly difficult to live in a mostly healthy lifestyle.
I know!!
I'm trying, Eilis.
Though I must admit your super dessert nachos look really good.
I apologize for that :D
I didn't eat them all for sure!
sends in the mail
No need to apologize. You've inspired me to go eat an apple and banana. :)
I'm not sure it would ship well but I appreciate the sentiment, Eilis.
I don't know what that is but I like it!
I think people act lots of ways in different situations but that most are inherently good hearted.
A sentiment so nice you posted it twice. :)
ehehehe
My current thinking is that most people are capable of good and bad, and we become more like the people we spend most of our time with.
I think it is true, too. That we are capable of good and bad. Here's another question: do you think anybody, given the right circumstances, is capable of anything?
Basically, could anybody murder.
@merthsoft would say yes, I think
I do think anybody is capable of any action given the right circumstances.
But the decision to be hateful, malicious, or sadistic, not everyone is capable of. Thank goodness.
Hm, that makes sense. Like if you kill someone in self defense, you aren't necessarily feeling malice, just - fear and survival instinct.
What do you think of people who enjoy 'bad' things in imagination/fiction, but would never do it in real life? Like that satisfying feeling from watching revenge in a movie even if you would never behave that way, or stuff like that!
Interesting question.
I think there are a few people who could never murder because of their upbringing.
But I think most people would murder to defend or protect. (See: Jessica Jones)
Is that really murder though?
No, that's just killing.
A good discussion topic for /jessicajones !
Yes, it is a good discussion topic for JJers. :)
Might want to "share" this post on that community.
oo yes! I don't know how to do that, except copy and paste? the url
Atop this page between the 4 Heart and the Dollar Sign is a Right Arrow.
That's the Share button. Posts this post in another community. Try it.
I think that fantasy can be cathartic as long as the person can understand the difference between fiction and reality.
Not everyone can understand that difference, but most people can.
wow!
I thought you'd like that. :)
I got distracted. I meant to add, how interesting and, I wonder if .... it is a theory anywhere that this is part of the inherent purpose of stories we create? To get out feelings that aren't socially acceptable or possible.
I think so.
In fiction we can experience anything as if we were there.
That's very liberating.
Shared here:
https://www.imzy.com/jessicajones/post/lets_grab_coffee_for_real_this_time
Cool!!