(ML) Why Do Some People Think They Know What Is Good For Others

Today, in class, two perspectives on human nature were presented. That of Mencius and that of Sun Tzu. Mencius thought that humans are naturally good, and acts of the opposite nature are caused by the lack of positive influence. Sun Tzu, on the other hand, thought that humans are naturally evil, and acts of goodness are intentional and thought through.

Well, how do you KNOW that man is inherently good or evil?

I think that both are present and it just depends on the individual which nature they act on.

It's just like any other decision in life. There may be two options that you have to choose from, but they both exist no matter which you choose. The fact remains, that two, perhaps opposite, options are BOTH present. And the nature of the actions of an individual are dependent on the choices and character of that person.

Person A may want and put his mind to doing something good, so he should, by all means, be able to do so. On the other hand, if it seems more appealing to him, then he may also decide to do something evil.

Sure, many people may attribute the "goodness" or "badness" of a Person A to his background, surroundings, or situation. And that may be true. But, if you really think about it, with a strong sense of character, even this should not pose as a limitation for what kind of person Person A wants to become.

My reason for this assumption? Look at all of these stories of people who come from backgrounds of poverty, of abuse, of violence, of unfortunate circumstance and turn out doing works that benefit a greater portion of humanity, even through simple inspiration. People like Nelson Mandela, Hunter "Patch" Adams, Ray Charles Robinson, Anne Frank, and even Johnny Cash and Christina Aguilera.

Then look at the people, who by all intents and purposes, grew up with a good life... privileged, with a good home, and parents who cared about them... and then turned out as criminals, as people who contribute nothing good, if anything at all, to society. And the sad fact is that many people, hardly contribute anything to society for most of their lives.

Take, for example, the sad fact that a LARGE number of people are living without access to safe drinking water. You know WHY this is so? Because so MANY people pollute every source they can find by the vast amount of waste that society produces every day and the sheer neglect of proper waste management. For a large part, THAT is why.

Humans must be liable for their own actions. This is, unfortunately, not frequently practices, and people often wind up blaming other people for the mistakes and misdemeanors that they decide to act on. The blame gets passed on to anyone from a parent to peers, to the devil himself. But I this is a gross injustice to those who receive the blame, because no one can really force you to do anything except for yourself.