4 Answers

    Well, if you think about it, the very concept of “good” was introduced by the person himself, and the idea of it changes over time. Today you are a hero and kind-hearted, and tomorrow you are a horseman of the Apocalypse. In general, a person is born “empty”, instincts and a lot of dopamine. And all his actions will be instinctive, depending on the situation, it may coincide that he will “call mercy to the fallen”, and in another situation the rider mentioned above.

    The mind of a newborn child is focused solely on absorbing information and then processing it. So I don't think so.

    I disagree with the previous answers, but not because I can prove with accuracy that such concepts as” good “and” evil ” are inherent in human nature from the very beginning, but because the statement that this is not so may raise some doubts. If we do not delve into the issues of religion, but simply deduce from it such a concept as “moral law”, then we can argue about whether its knowledge is inherent in a person from birth. Here is a short excerpt from a book by a famous biochemist (!) and geneticist (!!) who led a project to decipher the human genome in the United States (!!!) (exclamation marks in parentheses are given for militant atheists who accept only scientific authority) Francis Collins ' The Proof of God.

    “But is this knowledge of good and evil a natural quality of a person, or is it embedded in us by cultural traditions? According to some researchers, the norms of behavior in different cultures are so dissimilar that any conclusion about the existence of a common Moral law is devoid of grounds. Lewis, who has worked in so many cultures, calls such claims “lies, blatant lies.” He writes: “If you go to the library and spend a few days reading the Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics, you will soon see the greatest unanimity of people in practical matters. The Babylonian hymns and the laws of Manu, the Egyptian Book of the Dead and Confucius ' Discourses and Judgments, the Stoics and Platonists, the myths of the Aborigines of Australia and America condemn oppression, murder, treachery, deception with the same solemn monotony, and equally prescribe helping the elderly and children, the infirm and the weak, giving alms, maintaining impartiality and honesty.””

    And the second passage, in which Collins explains the blatant violations of such a law, and also discusses the existence of absolute “good” and “evil” as phenomena that are not created by man:

    “In some peculiar cultures, the Moral Law can also manifest itself in wild, ugly forms — such as the witch burnings in seventeenth-century America . And yet, as becomes clear on closer examination, even these obvious deviations should not be considered as non-compliance, but as compliance with the law, only with a mistaken understanding of what is good and what is evil. To those who firmly believe that the witch is the embodiment of Evil itself and the earthly messenger of the devil, cruelty towards her will seem justified.

    Here I will stop and note that the conclusion about the existence of a Moral Law contradicts the modern postmodern philosophy, according to which absolute good and evil do not exist, and all morality is relative. This point of view seems to be widely accepted among philosophers, but it is incomprehensible to most ordinary people and logically contradictory. If there is no absolute truth, can postmodernism itself be true? In fact, if there is no good or evil, there is no point in discussing ethics at all.”

    I think that all the same-good, and the source of all “evil” in the complexes, psychological traumas received in childhood, the desire, sometimes hypertrophied, to protect your family, property and yourself. For several years, I have worked with young children and observed how much kinder and more compassionate children are who are loved and how quickly you can correct cases that are not too neglected. They bloom like flowers)) Richard Dawkins, in his film Sex, Death and the Meaning of Life, polemics with Dostoevsky (“if there is no God, then everything is allowed”), speaks as a biologist precisely about the innate kindness of man. Citing the horrors of fascism as an example, he says that even the informationally zombified Nazis had to overcome compassion for the victims. that is, compassion is still primary.

    No. The concepts of “good” and “evil” are laid down in a person with upbringing and experience. Watch the children in the nursery – how they communicate, how they play with each other and you will not see either kindness or malice.

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