This is an essay on the origin of mankind:
".... Man is born with no conscience of his own being or of those around him, so his status on a scale of good and evil is indefinite, as there has been nothing to influence him otherwise. As man matures, his sense of himself and his purpose is developed, which varies depending on the level of influence the man is swayed by. Be it beneficial or malevolent, this influence will undoubtedly determine the content of his consciousness, and all he does will be based upon the root of this influence. Without it, a man knows not how to act but by instinct, which is the basic mental capacity he is born with. Man may survive on instinct, but will prosper with knowledge, and so it is only through many generations of influence that man could have reached his current status.
This is why discovery is so important. Without discovery, there is no eventual influence or advancement. Man will live with his instinct forever, but, thank the heavens, man has a brain that is capable of analyzing his world and making use of any and everything around him. In the animal world, this is adaptation. But, unlike humans, animals are born with their adaptations. Humans have the ability to dynamically adapt, and so are capable of discoveries, which lead to further discoveries, and the eventual influence or spreading of such discoveries.
Man discovered fire, and this discovery spread. (influence on others) Fire was valuable, fire helped adaptation, so this new technology (at the time) was able to spread quickly. It is the nature of man, and his adaptability that ultimately led to his status today. After fire, there was the furnace, the chimney, and all other adaptations and usages for fire. It could cook, it could light, and it could heat. We build upon its fundamental uses, and the end result is fire as it's used today. Man has the ability to take such discoveries and build upon them, which is highly responsible for his success.
So, how does this affect people? Are people born good or evil? The answer from me is no. Man was born with instinct and base personality. It is only through discovery and the influence of those discoveries that man changes.
(Tangent: But, then, what is base personality? Base personality is defined as your unique patterns of thinking, which adapt according to the idea or knowledge that is being analyzed. Without these patterns, we would all think and feel the same, which would result in a rather dull world. Are certain thinking patterns more malevolent than others? No, but approaches and routines are different. Suppose there is a conflict among a tribe of cavemen. One cavemen wants to kill his enemies, another prefers a diplomatic approach. Both of these approaches to the problem, although it may sound cruel, are efficient. The problem is solved either way, so why absolve one as good or evil?
Emotion is the answer. I'm sure man's savagery would never be considered good or evil if he was just like any other animal. Instead he has emotions, which are a unique counterpart of instinct only apparent in humans. Emotion, I am sure, created the labels of good and evil. Without emotions, man would just be a very analytical and generally intelligent animal, and his decisions and reasoning would be influenced by very little aside from cause and effect. )
With time, ideas spread quickly, like fire, and the manipulation of the mind begins. One's unique thinking patterns analyze the ideas, and use them according to the nature of those thinking patterns. With emotion, the nature of the discovery, and influence involved, reason can be either complementary or detrimental to man, depending on his interpretation of the ideas.
And so, to me, men are not born evil, but rather become evil with influence and interpretation of discoveries, or unique reason."



LinkBack URL
About LinkBacks
Reply With Quote



Bookmarks