I remember reading a story in high school (it's a classic who's name I can't remember . . . any one know it?) where there were a bunch of children in a plane crash where all the adults died. They were stranded on an island and had to fend for themselves. They started by following rules as if adults were there, but they wound up creating their own rules and became a sort of tribe full of selfish people, eventually leading even to murder.
At the time we read this, the teacher told us that he believed that humans are naturally going to be "bad" in that they will do whatever is in their own best interest without thought for other people. He brought this one step further to say that babies are born with this evil in them and it is only by supressing this natural badness that we get good people.
Well, I didn't believe it then and I'm even more convinced of my position now.
I don't know if it's because my girls are twins, but they genuinely care about each other. If one is sad, the other one will try to give her a binky or a toy. They take turns when playing games. They really look after each other to the best of their limited ability. Is this just because they are twins? (Some people consider them two halves of the same person, so does this count as being self serving?)
But on the other hand, if badness has to be learned and is not in us when we are born, how did it become a part of our abilities? Where did we learn it from in the first place?
Something I will think about and probably discuss again in the future.
I'm very interested in your opinions too, so please feel free to think "out loud" in your comments.
4 comments:
Lord of the Flies
I don't believe people are born bad, either. In fact, although babies are kind of self centered, in a very short time, they offer affection in whatever way mother does. In Rosie's case, she likes the hair on the back of her head rubbed, and that's what she does for me. I think children learn what they live, and they bring out the best in us, their parents. But we all have a tendency toward sin. Even children. So we try to teach them what the right thing is, even while trying to avoid sin ourselves. It's hard, and we all fail in some degree.
I think that some of it in the beginning is instinct, but very quickly, environmental factors take over. A seed knows how to orient it's growth so that it's roots go down and the shoot up (regardless of the direction the seed is planted in), but after that, environmental factors determine whether it grows straight and tall, skinny and crooked, or whatever. And some of it is genetic as well, the tendency to grow crooked is stronger in some tree species than in others. So, the question is one of nature vs. nurture I think. But then, I am a completely non-religious person poking my nose in here, so maybe religious/spiritual explanations work better.
I think the book was Lord of the Flies.. and I agree with you - except in my case - I'm just bad! ;)
Niki
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