The Nature of Mankind?

Question

Do you believe that people are born with animalistic instincts at heart (as shown in The Mist, The Ox-Bow Incident, Lord of the Flies, etc.), or are people good at heart, and if put in a life or death situation, would do the "right" thing?

Answer 1

Man is capable of the best and the worst in various situations. Wars and unusual events have shown that an ordinary person can be pressured to show extreme courage, cruelty or other acts that he would not be capable of carrying out during normal times.   Cannibalism among citizens when food was scarce, rapes and cruelty by soldiers towards prisoners were the usual horrors of world wars. Many innocent citizens were killed without a proper trial and countless women committed suicide at the hands of enemy soldiers. The cruel acts by German military in the Holocaust and the Japanese soldiers during the last world war are well-known. Invasions and wars only brought untold misery to huge populations over several years of occupation.

Answer 2

Perhaps.  Then again, perhaps not.

Answer 3

der is correct.  "Good" and "bad" are only human notions with no inherit reality.  Notice how what good or bad are in the eye of the beholder.

Answer 4

As long as the person is not reduced to the level of the animal to survive, he will act with civilized behavior except in the area of s*x. Here, his personal code will come into play. Overall, if civilization's presence is imminent, people will remain civilized, but only because they will be called into account by civilization.

Civilization is the thinnest veneer we have and it is easy stripped off us. Beneath it, we are all barbarians, but not necessarily animals. We know what we do.

Answer 5

your question really leaves room for to many variables. a persons instinct's are to a certain degree molded, by time. this persons action's are sometimes defined by the endowment an individual grew up in.

in a life or death situation, most people will do what it takes to survive. someone can be the most "decent" person to exist, but put in a life or die situation, decency and kindness are the first things to go. take the soldier, for example. a guy can be the nicest person in the world, until he goes to work and then that person becomes medieval. this might be the only way that person can survive...it's kill or be killed. is that person wrong for taking a life. is this man "evil" or did he do the "right" thing.  this one action may have saved the lives of how many.

Answer 6

Animal instincts are beyond simple labels like 'good' and 'right'.