The+Good,+the+Bad,+and+the…+Neutral?+(Margot+Pitney)

The Good, the Bad, and the… Neutral?

How are we, as humans, defined when born?[1] Pure souls with pure hearts and minds, purely good? “Machine men with machine minds,”[2] programmed bad? Programmed with sets of values and morals or steered wrong by our selfish desires? Is it true that goodness is our nature?

There are those who define this good nature as “being predisposed to act,” when born, “cooperatively,” mask desires “help others even when it costs us.”[3] Good. This is good. This is pure. This is moral. If such is true, how are we then turned bad?

Studies show we are not innately bad[4] and that “tightly bound into our nature” we are wired to follow good morals. Babies, who have no influence when born, <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">are thus studied for signs of innate good.[5] <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">The results aren’t what skeptics desire.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">They think humans are tempted by desire.[6] <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">“Sinful from the time of conception,” bad <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">and destined for trouble rather than good. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">It’s in our blood; it’s our human nature. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Society will change how we are born <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">and turn bad intentions into morals.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Or maybe we are born with no morals. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Are we merely neutral with no desires? <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">could it be? Like Clare states “people aren’t born <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">good or bad.”[7] Or that “the good are half bad.”[8] <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Just as untouched as innocent nature? <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Are we all the same, neither bad nor good?

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Some contend to being innately good, <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Such is bolstered by research on morals. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Some believe we have no human nature: <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">just blank slates without any desires. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Then there are those believing we’re plain bad. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Some argue half good and half bad, we’re born.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Those who are good may still have dark desire <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">And those who are moral may still be bad[9] <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">How’s our human nature defined when born?

[1] Experiential Source - widely debated and questioned: “Is human nature good (yes) or evil (no)?” [2] Fiction source: quote from The Great Dictator [3] Non fiction source: “Scientists Probe Human Nature – and discover we are good, after all” [4] Non Fiction source: “Are we born with a moral code? The baby lab says, yes” (Chun) [5] Non fiction source: “Are we naturally food or bad?” (Stafford) [6] Non Fiction source: “Good, Bad, or Neutral” (Fennema) [7] Fiction source: Cassandra Clare’s City of Glass (Clare) [8] Poet: “Two Kinds of People” (Wilcox 1) [9] Concept taken from poet: “The Zebra Question” (Silverstein)