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Originally written by Thuryl:

You scored as Miscreant.

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Originally written by *i:

I am a citizen.

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Originally written by Thuryl:

"Everyone ultimately does everything because for some reason they want to" is a depressing idea? Would "people routinely choose to do things without any good reason whatsoever" be less depressing?

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Originally written by Emperor Tullegolar:

Lame. "Oh, Tullegolar, I can't answer that question, there are too many facets, wah." Give me a break, I asked for comments on human nature. You've nothing to say about the subject? Are humans guided by society, greed, emotions, empathy? Nothing? I was expecting more interesting answers and viewpoints. Most of you would rather avoid saying anything, it seems.

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Originally written by Garrison:

As a final point, I defy anyone to argue that a human growing up in the wilderness will not be extremely selfish and have little compassion. This would imply a natural leaning toward evil, but this is in the pathologically unnatural case of seclusion. It is more natural for humans to grow up together in a community.

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Originally written by Emperor Tullegolar:

Some of you are actually agreeing with me? I shall offer an opposing argument as well, then. Aristotle explained what it means to be "good" and why humans naturally lean towards it rather than evil. It is a simple one word answer: empathy.

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When you see someone else suffer, you feel a instinctual need to ease this persons suffering, even if it does not benefit you at all. Garrison was right when he said that the personal satisfaction people get from good deeds makes people naturally good. Even someone living in the woods does not like to see suffering, simply because it triggers memories of their own suffering, and thus a natural desire to remedy it.

One could even argue that that person in the woods would seek only to benefit others rather than themselves. After all, is it not society that teaches us the value of material goods and the importance of personal accomplishment?

And so, people are naturally good.

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Originally written by Come the Rivers:

Oh, I'm sure we're hard-wired with some empathy. It's good for the species. That only applies to what we see and really feel. I think most people could order a dozen people to be tortured to death much more easily than they could kill a single person with their own hands no matter how easy it was made.

—Alorael, who isn't sure that that's human nature and not cultural indoctrination. Humans seem culturally adept at relegating certain groups to non-empathic categories. New world slavery, the Holocaust (yes, Godwin here), anti-Jewish pogroms, and even to some extent current attitudes towards Muslims all show how empathy can be conveniently put on hold.

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Originally written by The Worst Man Ever:

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Originally written by Garrison:

As a final point, I defy anyone to argue that a human growing up in the wilderness will not be extremely selfish and have little compassion. This would imply a natural leaning toward evil, but this is in the pathologically unnatural case of seclusion. It is more natural for humans to grow up together in a community.

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Whimsical ignorance strikes again:
(a) People are 'selfish' in a 'state of nature'? Covered that one. See my link on page 1.
(b) 'It is more natural for humans to grow up together in a community' - AAARGH! Would you all just stop using the word 'natural' ever? It's a meaningless power word and if you use it I hate you.
(c) Humans are biologically programmed for social behavior (see a); a human baby in the woods will die off because of hospitalization even if capable of finding food. People just don't thrive in isolation unless they have serious psychological problems.

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