Are we all born bad?
Our brains evolved to increase our chances of survival on the African serangeti . The oldest writings we have found are only about 3000 years old. That means our brains were not designed (due to evolution) for the modern world. Do most of us learn from our parents, teachers, and environment, etc. to behave well? If we are born bad and have to learn to be good vote NO. If you think we are born basically good, and some of us learn evil, then vote YES. Also, a famous psychiatrist once said "Give me the child until he is 3, and I will give you the man." How much of our behavior is due to our prehistoric brain, and how much is due to our environment? How much control due we have over our brains? Governing our brain is like a rider on the back of an elephant.
1
Enjoy being online again!
Welcome to the community of good people who base their values on evidence and appreciate civil discourse - the social network you will enjoy.Create your free account
7 comments
Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.We are born with sloppy mental processes given to impulsiveness, snap judgments, confirmation bias and agency inference. This is not "bad" in the sense of morally wrong, it is just what we are. Hopefully our parents / mentors / society / life experiences help us learn to have a better quality of thought and action, increase our self awareness, and have better self control. Some people are eternal children, some exceed the average of personal development, the rest are somewhere in between.
mordant
Level 8
Oct 2, 2019
1
The brain starts developing in the womb. I wonder what the brain learns while in the womb? How much does the brain already know at birth? Does it know some right from wrong? Does it know to play fair and to be altruistic? Does an infant learn to cry to get what it wants? Hunger is natural so the infant may cry because it's tummy is empty, but does it cry because it wants to have a diaper change? Do infants cry when they are bored? Can we affect an infant's IQ while still in the womb?
Grecio
Level 7
Oct 1, 2019
0
Weare simply born. We are not born either good or bad, with one possible exception. Some neurologists assert that psychopaths are different from birth.
wordywalt
Level 9
Oct 1, 2019
4
I read ( but don't believe) that 80& of criminals in prison have had a brain trauma of some kind. Of course, that implies that they aren't bad people, it's just that their brains don't work correctly.
I wrote this post. If it is totally wrong, please let me know if you can.I am not saying what is right or wrong, I am asking for opinions.
@JenBeberstein Jen thanks for the tip. I earmarked the website as well. Quite enlightening.
So many things are incorrect in this post I have no idea where to start, so I shall not.
LenHazell53
Level 9
Oct 1, 2019
1
Two reactions :
[en.wiktionary.org]
FearlessFly
Level 9
Sep 30, 2019
2
I disagree with Tabula Rasa. I think we inherit tendencies that equip us for survival. We probably inherit the tendency to believe in God and the propensity to run away from snakes and other dangerous animals. We inherit the tendency to cow down to dominant males. We inherit the "flight or flight" mechanism that causes our adrenaline to spike.
Who is the psychiatrist? I’d like to see his work because he is clearly paraphrasing the Jesuit axiom “give me the child until seven”
Geoffrey51
Level 8
Sep 30, 2019
2
sorry "St. Ignatius Loyola and also to Aristotle" my bad.... see Google
@Grecio okay. It is certainly seven or eight years old as up until that age children do not discern fantasy from reality and the seeds for future expectations are sown.
Living on the primal serangeti is nothing like living in the modern world. Things that were good for us then are bad for us now. We play with cell phones all day. Is that good for us? I dunno. That has to be seen. The tribal instincts we are seeing prevalent in America and Europe today may be making a comeback.
Grecio
Level 7
Sep 30, 2019
1
There is some thought that post-modernism has run its course and we are entering a phase of neo-tribalism which backs your conjecture.
Enjoy being online again!
Welcome to the community of good people who base their values on evidence and appreciate civil discourse - the social network you will enjoy.Create your free account
Share this post
Related Groups More
Memes R Us
3036 members
Progressives, Socialists, and Black/Palestinian Lives Matter
2457 members
World Music
1359 members
Categories
Agnostic does not evaluate or guarantee the accuracy of any content. Read full disclaimer.