The Evil Within
Are Humans Truly Evil?
One of the most questioned things in human history: are humans inherently good or inherently evil? At first glance, it appears that humans are inherently evil. When observing a society, one can find selfishness, greed, anger, resentment, jealousy, mistrust, and so many more negative attributes of not only the relationships between people but within a single person as well. Two famous philosophers who specialized on this topic were Thomas Hobbes and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Hobbes believed that humans are inherently evil and Rousseau believed that humans are inherently good.
A writer named Robin Douglass wrote an article titled “Hobbes vs Rousseau: are we inherently evil?” comparing these two philosophers to one another with their differing views and opinions of the world surrounding them. Since Hobbes had the opinion that humans are evil, it is generally assumed that this means he had a very pessimistic view of life. Douglass does not, however, believe he is being pessimistic: “Hobbes saw societies divided by war and offered a road to peace” (Douglass). According to Hobbes, the only way for humans to all live peacefully together is to submit to an authoritative leader. This leader would be the answer to societies being divided by war. The reason that Douglass does not think that Hobbes is pessimistic about being evil is that while Hobbes believed humans are inherently evil, he saw a solution to this evilness. On the flip side of this spectrum, Douglass concludes that Rousseau’s inherently good view of people is not optimistic at all. Rousseau’s philosophy on this states that while he believes humans at their very core are good, it is “political and social institutions which make us evil” (Douglass). What this means is that it is the society around us that brings out the evil in ourselves. According to Rousseau, once human nature is corrupted a single time, the odds of gaining redemption quickly disappear. The reason that Douglass categorizes Rousseau as a pessimist is that when Rousseau saw how societies became divided by inequality, he also foresaw their downfall.
To reiterate the question we are asking: are humans inherently evil, or do we simply bring out the worst in each other? Rousseau’s answer is yes, humans do bring out the worst in each other.
Now that the earthly answers from Hobbes and Rousseau have been established, let’s compare to something non-earthly. From what scripture says in the Bible about sin, the worst evil, Hobbes’s perspective seems to be reinforced.
Matt Perman wrote an article titled “What Is the Biblical Evidence for Original Sin?” in which he captures various verses from the Bible and what they state about sin. Ecclesiastes 9:3 states that “…the hearts of the sons of men are full of evil, and insanity is in their hearts through their lives.” Perman interprets this verse of the Bible to mean that all humans always have evil inside of them. Perman goes on to expand on this, mentioning how even infants are not innocent and without sin. While this is a whole other subject in itself, he briefly mentions this to support the fact that everyone is born with sin and evil inside them.
So, according to the Bible, our question now seems to be answered. While Hobbes and Rousseau have very distinct points of view, they clashed with each other and brought about more confusion and wonder about what the answer could be. Are humans inherently evil? The Bible tells us yes; every person to live on Earth has evil in their hearts, this is what causes us to sin. The question now, though, is what people will choose to believe is the most accurate. There are three options: believe that humans are inherently evil, believe that humans are inherently good, or believe that society has corrupted everyone into being evil. For some, believing one of these options may look different than someone else believing the same option.
I feel that humans are inherently evil. If people were not inherently evil, they would not undoubtedly sin every day. While I agree with Hobbes that humans are evil, one could say that I am not as much of an optimist as Douglass feels Hobbes is. Hobbes had a solution to the inherent evil: an authoritative leader to control everything. I am more pessimistic than he, because I do not agree with this solution. First of all, the leader would also be inherently evil so how could they truly help? And second of all, by human nature, as part of the evil within us, people feel a need to rebel against totalitarian control over them.
Do you agree? Are humans are inherently good, inherently evil, or corrupted by society? Suzy Kassem once said, “everybody has good and bad forces working with them, against them, and within them.” Do these good and bad forces determine how inherently good or evil people are? Perhaps there is a whole other answer to our question which has not been mentioned here. I do not think we will ever know what the correct answer is, but everyone should deliberate on what they think the answer should be in an attempt to understand humanity.
