Classical Good & Evil Flashcards
What was Socrates’ view?
People were innately good, evil came from ignorance.
What was Plato’s view?
Evil occurred when the rational soul failed to keep control of the other souls.
What was Saint Augustine’s view?
Everyone is born with the original sin (people are naturally evil).
Who put forward the view that people are naturally evil?
Hobbes
Who put forward the view that people are naturally good?
Rousseau
What was Hobbes concerned with?
How people can live together in peace without conflict.
What did Hobbes believe all human motivation was?
Selfish, and tied to survival.
What did Hobbes believe our 2 basic emotions were?
Fear (negative)
Desire for power (positive)
What did Hobbes believe was a central part of human experience?
Aggression
What was the text that Hobbes wrote called?
Leviathan
What did Hobbes argue in Leviathan?
People should form a social contract with the government/monarch to have the conditions for a peaceful life.
What was Rousseau’s view?
Very optimistic; people are naturally peaceful and decent
What was the name of Rousseau’s book? What ideas did this put forward?
The Social Contract
Argued that problems were caused by society/romanticised peasant life
3 pieces of evidence for being naturally evil
- Many sayings about behaving altruistically also appeal to self-interest rather than prosocial ideals
- Why do we need moral systems to nudge us towards altruistic behaviour?
- Why do we get annoyed when people don’t show gratitude?
3 pieces of evidence for being naturally good
- When we are made aware of suffering, humans often offer support
- Around a third of the world’s population performs some charitable activity in a month
