Good Or Evil Essay, Research Paper

Is Man Inherently Good, Bad, Both?

Psychologists often struggle with the question does man have inherently good characteristics, or do they lead to the negative. What makes a man act the way he does? Is it nature, hormone imbalances, or the way he is raised? Man s intrinsic characteristics can be good bad or both. Most people would like to believe that they are good. Man is inherently good; man is most likely brought up to be good. For example, because a child knows he will be rewarded for cleaning his room, he will do it. When a man matures and takes on a job to support his family, he shows that his instincts are positive. He may not succeed, but his conscience told him to be positive in support of his family.

Some people believe that a man s inborn characteristics are good, but others believe they are basically bad. Sigmund Freud, the father of psychoanalysis, helped prove that man s inherent nature is negative. Dr. Freud identified the Oedipus complex, where a child has a sexual attachment to a parent of the opposite sex and jealousy toward the parent of the same sex. This shows that a man s basic nature is bad.

Other people can be also good and bad. Driving is an example of how people can exhibit this kind of behavior. When a driver would like to drive 80 mph and the person in front of him is going only 70 mph in the fast lane, the driver may develop road rage and become furious, exhibiting bad behavior. This person may be typically good under normal circumstances; for example, it could be a minister at a local church. This shows that man has both good and bad tendencies. Man is born inferior, but can be trained to be good. His propensity can be toward good, evil, or both.