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By that I mean, even if they have great loving parents, are fortunate enough to grow up not having to face poverty or war or anything of the sort they will always be inclined to do bad/evil things?
I know these are obviously extreme examples but I think it goes well here, let's take men such as Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot, Mao etc. true these men were brought up under pretty bad circumstances, but say, hypothetically, they weren't and were raised with great loving parents that taught them love, not hate, and had a very great up-bringing. Do you think, as adults these men would still end up being real mean/hateful/evil people?
Yes.
When one dies, only physical body parishes. True Self carries on, into after the death states. Along, it tugs inclinations. Across many existences, they build up into a particular pattern for this particular Self.
This may result in an "evil" born human, or a "great humanitarian" one, regardless of environment it came to existence in.
By that I mean, even if they have great loving parents, are fortunate enough to grow up not having to face poverty or war or anything of the sort they will always be inclined to do bad/evil things?
I know these are obviously extreme examples but I think it goes well here, let's take men such as Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot, Mao etc. true these men were brought up under pretty bad circumstances, but say, hypothetically, they weren't and were raised with great loving parents that taught them love, not hate, and had a very great up-bringing. Do you think, as adults these men would still end up being real mean/hateful/evil people?
How can you become mean/hateful/evil if you were only taught love or how can you become kind/loving/beneficial if you were only taught hate?
Mean/hateful/evil traits show themselves early in life. These traits are taught by parents, TV, other kids and by a world with mean/hateful/evil very prominent in it.
But why do some kids imitate these traits and other kids don't?
Because of the way mean/hateful/evil is packaged combined with thousands of other factors from many different categories found in the child's life?
Power..........You only give examples of POWER evil types but evil/mean/hateful can be found from the very bottom to the very top.........Politicians/lawyers/dentists/doctors/realtors/business people/teachers/cops/construction workers/beauticians/waitresses/cab drivers/unemployed/homeless. Some use gossip or lies to hurt others. Some use fear tactics to hurt others. Some betray others after befriending them etc.
Some kids are different from very early on. Sociopaths. Of course, environment can be important, but I suspect that some kids truly have the seeds of evil from day one. Thankfully, 99% of kids are redeemable with good parenting and socialization.
Some kids are different from very early on. Sociopaths. Of course, environment can be important, but I suspect that some kids truly have the seeds of evil from day one. Thankfully, 99% of kids are redeemable with good parenting and socialization.
Then is it someone's fault if they are born that way?
Philosophically this can be argued as either no or yes.
Let's say that humans were born at the age of 20. And their place of birth was a prison.
I'm sure the guards would call the prisoners who thought out of the box, and tried to escape as "bad people" because they did not accept their societal role of being a prisoner. A prisoner who went to sleep when the lights went out, worked the fields when he was suppose to work, took a break in the yard when he was allowed.
Maybe the people society calls "abnormal, strange, different, crazy" are the normal ones? The good spirits. The ones trying to break free from the prison they were born into?
I think on the whole, people are a product of what happens to them in life. Meaning people are bad because of the circumstances theyve been put through. However, I do believe there are special cases where people are born with bad wiring.
Two big debates here: (1) nature vs. nurture, and (2) what is "evil", vs. merely acting in self-interest?
Few people, I suppose, intentionally set out to commit evil, or regard their actions as being evil. Pick the most odious dictator or most brutal warlord in history, hypothetically interview him, and I'd wager that his response would be that he's doing the Lord's work, or the heavy-lifting for a thankless and indolent people, or purifying the world from unsavory and nefarious elements, or elevating humanity to a higher fulfillment of their latent potential. Genocide, slavery, plunder, whatever - would be defended as collateral damage, as incidental expense necessary for some higher purpose; and that those who disagree, are simply fools oblivious to the shining truth of that higher purpose. The dictator's genius is seeing that truth - which is why he's uniquely suited to bearing the mantle of dictatorship.
With that in mind, the operative concept isn't predisposition to evil, but to solipsism and a thirst for power. An upbringing that encourages sharing and collaboration, where resources are plentiful and there's no need to assert one's dominance just to survive, would presumably reduce the frequency of young-people predisposed to yearning for power over others. But again, the nature vs. nurture debate is inscrutable. Maybe even the "best" circumstances can produce despicable outcomes, or just cases where the "potential" is there, and such potential can be harnessed for salutary or pernicious ends.
Neither is there much trend, I think, between how individualistic a society is (vs. collectivist) and the propensity for breeding tyrants. This suggests limitation of the role of nurture.
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