Are There More Good People Than Bad?

[Belegon]

Obviously a very subjective question...but do you think that most people are basically good people? In my profession I have come to believe that most people ARE good but that the bad ones get most of the attention. Thoughts? Opinions?


LadyJ and Killer Muffin prompted the thread, so I hope I get at least two responses *grin*...

 

[sincerely_helene]

Obviously a very subjective question...but do you think that most people are basically good people? In my profession I have come to believe that most people ARE good but that the bad ones get most of the attention. Thoughts? Opinions?


LadyJ and Killer Muffin prompted the thread, so I hope I get at least two responses *grin*...

More bad than good, but with an explination.

I don't think most bad people actually know they are bad, or even mean to be... they only follow the way the rest of society dictates to them to behave. Religion, politics, genetics, background... all can play a role. What is 'wrong' or 'bad' to us, may not be 'wrong' or 'bad' to the typical serial killer, for example. I suppose that is what you meant by subjective, but that is what makes the question impossible to answer without some biase.

I have, personally, encountered more people I would consider bad than good. It's still just my opinion, though. I tend to maintain a high set of standards, and do unto others... thus expect the same courtesy.

 

[LadyJeanne]

Obviously a very subjective question...but do you think that most people are basically good people? In my profession I have come to believe that most people ARE good but that the bad ones get most of the attention. Thoughts? Opinions?


LadyJ and Killer Muffin prompted the thread, so I hope I get at least two responses *grin*...

When I try to think in those terms, I usually get to good equals kind-hearted and thoughtful of others. But my opinion on whether there are more of one kind of people or another changes based on whether I've run into more of the good ones or more of the bad ones lately.

 

[Songcatcher]

There are no good or bad.

Only ones who feel guilt and those who don't.

 

[Belegon]

my opinion on whether there are more of one kind of people or another changes based on whether I've run into more of the good ones or more of the bad ones lately.

we are similar in this respect....

 

[Seattle Zack]

There are more bad people than good. By far.

Don't trust anyone until you know their motives.

And always bring a towel. Of course.

 

[sincerely_helene]

There are more bad people than good. By far.

Don't trust anyone until you know their motives.

And always bring a towel. Of course.

I hear ya.

 

[joeys-game]

Obviously a very subjective question...but do you think that most people are basically good people? In my profession I have come to believe that most people ARE good but that the bad ones get most of the attention. Thoughts? Opinions?


LadyJ and Killer Muffin prompted the thread, so I hope I get at least two responses *grin*...

Definetly more good than bad but the bad ones always get the attention.
For instance..wwhen a teacher talks about thei day..they will almost always tell you about what 'bad little johnny did before anything else.
or'
When a family is discussed by others, the conversation centers around the child who is giving the most problems at the time.
We are a product of our environment which still fosters an unhealthy attitude of
good and bad
or right and wrong!
Lets focus on the good guys for a change!

 

[JamesSD]

More Good

Obviously a very subjective question...but do you think that most people are basically good people? In my profession I have come to believe that most people ARE good but that the bad ones get most of the attention. Thoughts? Opinions?

More good people than strictly bad.
But everyone is capable of being bad in the right circumstance.
Still, I think most people mean well, and will be helpful and honest up to a certain point.
There are bad people in the world. But they aren't the majority.

 

[TheEarl]

Obviously a very subjective question...but do you think that most people are basically good people? In my profession I have come to believe that most people ARE good but that the bad ones get most of the attention. Thoughts? Opinions?


LadyJ and Killer Muffin prompted the thread, so I hope I get at least two responses *grin*...

<Ignoring the point completely>

Killer Muffin? She's still here? Where?

The Earl

 

[Guest]

bad, good...
how about many different levels of good with a few bad tossed in?
as mentioned above product of environment...(not going into the psych/social aspect here...its much too early) even serial killers start out loving little animals...until the kill them.

 

[impressive]

I am an idealist, so I do believe there is goodness in everyone. (That's the nature part.) However, society ... our greedy value system ... nurtures behavior that is "bad" in terms of peace, tolerance, and altruism. It's a vicious cycle, since it feeds fear and hate. Currently, at least in the U.S., I'd have to say "bad" is winning as a pervasive culture of selfishness and ego.

Now, everybody join hands and we'll sing Kumba Ya.

 

[TheEarl]

I am an idealist, so I do believe there is goodness in everyone. (That's the nature part.) However, society ... our greedy value system ... nurtures behavior that is "bad" in terms of peace, tolerance, and altruism. It's a vicious cycle, since it feeds fear and hate. Currently, at least in the U.S., I'd have to say "bad" is winning as a pervasive culture of selfishness and ego.

Now, everybody join hands and we'll sing Kumba Ya.

I'd have it the other way around. What we'd refer to as 'bad' is a societal construct and wouldn't exist as a concept if it wasn't for the fact that society frowns on it. The entire point of society is about trying to regulate bad tendencies in people. I'd say 'badness' is inherent in humans, perhaps more so than goodness as we are designed to survive at the expense of everyone else. It's why communism doesn't work - everone will compete, even if you try and stop them.

There is nothing either good nor bad, but thinking makes it so.

The Earl

 

[impressive]

I'd have it the other way around.

Well, you're wrong.

 

[Liar]

Good and bad depends on what side of the fence you're on and the range of your knowledge horizon.

I believe that most people want to do good, but understanding what is good for other people is trickier than it seems.

The only truly bad people are the few that knows the difference between right and wrong, but just doesn't give a fuck.

#L

 

[TheEarl]

Well, you're wrong.

No, you're wrong. My mum says so as well and I have a note from my doctor.

The Earl

 

[ElizabethWest]

I believe people are inherently bad. It is our struggle to act good for whatever reason (religion, societal norms, etc.) that separates us from the animals.

Well most of us...

 

[Colleen Thomas]

I think it depends entierly on how you personally define bad and good. There are a few people who are just so good natured, even tempered, open minded, generous, thoughtful etc. that you cannot help but define them as good by any reasonable standard. There are a few that are so vile you cannot help but clasify them as bad, by any reasonable standard. They represent the extreme ends of the scale.

I think most people, fall in the middle and are governed by a more or less enlightened self-interest. They aren't bad and given favorable circumstances will be and do good more often than not. In non favorable circumstances, they will act in their own percieved best interests and can, and often do, show their asses.

You work in construction, so I am sure you have seen this in action. If you are on time, on schedule, under budget and the worksmanship is good, your client will, in all likelyhood be a great guy. If you are late, have unforseen problems, or inconvienince him, the same fellow who bought pizza for the guys yesterday may turn red in the face and threaten legal action. He isn't neccessarily good or bad, given the right circumstance he can seem as good as gold or be a PITA.

I think the majority of us are like that, with perception of good and bad having a lotmore to do with the situation in which you make their aquantance.

 

[dr_mabeuse]

I think it depends entierly on how you personally define bad and good. There are a few people who are just so good natured, even tempered, open minded, generous, thoughtful etc. that you cannot help but define them as good by any reasonable standard. There are a few that are so vile you cannot help but clasify them as bad, by any reasonable standard. They represent the extreme ends of the scale.

That's entirely it.

If good is a measure of people's willingness to help each other on a face-to-face basis, then there are more good people, in my experience.

If you're talking abut people acting selfishly or putting their own interests first as being bad, then there are more bad people.

I'm convinced that most of the world's evil is done by people who think they're doing good. They think they're doing good, but they do the opposite out of ignorance. Does that make them good or bad?

 

[English Lady]

I honestly beleive we're all a mix of the both,all of us. There is no bad person who's never done a good thing intheir life and vice versa. It's all about context and point of view.


I tend to see more of the good in people than the bad, butI'm an optimist, so I'm always going to say that because I look for the good in people, not the bad.

 

[joeys-game]

I honestly beleive we're all a mix of the both,all of us. There is no bad person who's never done a good thing intheir life and vice versa. It's all about context and point of view.


I tend to see more of the good in people than the bad, butI'm an optimist, so I'm always going to say that because I look for the good in people, not the bad.

Right you are darling..well said!

 

[cantdog]

Yes

People have to be made bad. They start out good; and I think they take less time to turn it around when they have become bad and decide to fix it than they took to turn bad in the first place. So to that extent, I think the evaluation is objective. If it takes longer to go from good to bad than it does to reform, then we can call it evidence.

The most important thing that makes the question subjective is the definitions used for the terms. Each person's idea of what's meant by them is likely slightly different.

That said, I don't think people try to be that good, nor good all the time. But a reasonable level of good, on the whole, is I think the rest position, the starting point.

 

[rgraham666]

For me, good or bad requires intent, a conscious decision to perform an action and a realisation of the consequences of that action. Good and bad require a conscious acceptance or denial of ethics.

And I don't believe most people have intent. They perform the actions that they have learned they should perform by the cultural millieu they live in. With little or no conscious ethics they cannot be considered either bad or good.

Most people 'just follow orders'.

 

[Liar]

I'm convinced that most of the world's evil is done by people who think they're doing good. They think they're doing good, but they do the opposite out of ignorance. Does that make them good or bad?

To me, it's all about intent. Also, the definition of what it a good cause is a cultural construct, so it's pretty hard to be bad from your own perspective. If I believe that it's a good deed to torture kittens and commit genocide, then torturing said kittens and comitting random acts of lethal ethnic cleansing will make me a good person.

By any normal standards, it will also make me a completely insane person, but that's another issue.

#L

 

[cantdog]

There are no good or bad.

Only ones who feel guilt and those who don't.

That's very cool, and deep in implications. The idea of good behavior must of course be learned, to some extent. But we are far from blank slates. The ape social system is there. People (excepting autistic or sociopathic people, and others who are out of the norm from some disease or condition) naturally, therefore, judge how they are doing, socially, and attach importance to it. Where one is on the pecking order is very important to social creatures, and determines a lot of their behavior.

But you can rise socially with aggressive and ruthless behavior just as well as you can by its opposite number. How well socialized a person is, that is, the learned behavior, makes the difference about which route you pick. Some families teach their children to be merciless, too. There is much in what you have said so pithily.