Can someone be inherently evil?

[Regulus]

The point is that everyone's enjoyment of life is equally meaningful, even if it is within everyone's own mind. It is not a rule the mind places on itself, it is a simple fact.

The only way what you say could be true is if you're the only sentient being in the universe.

[Azdgari]

If you'll pardon my butting in: aren't constructs of the mind made real by the consequences they create in the real world? For example, democracy isn't tangible, it is an idea, an illusion of the mind. However, it manifests by influencing people to govern themselves in a certain way. Woeler's enjoyment of something is real to me because it affects how he acts. His enjoyment of beer is real to me because it creates a material reaction: Woeler drinking beer. (what I believer are) Bad morals become tangible in how they create (what I perceive to be) negative, or "evil" actions in the world. The same way I agree with Reg that morality is real, because of its ability to influence people to behave in certain ways.

[DGFone]

Something I just realized today:

This entire topic is meaningless.

Why? Because the definition of "inherently" means without outside influenced. However, thanks to human evolution... a human will die without outside help long before they will even know what evil is. We are not snakes or sharks that know everything from birth, but learn as we get older after we are born.

An inherently evil human is a dead human, because in order to survive, they will need outside help and influence, thus neglecting the "inherent" part. You can raise a child to be evil, but that's no longer inherent.

[Regulus]

Dangit, stop making me wish I could read.

But, in all seriousness, I think this topic refers to being evil without outside influence, in the sense of internally creating evil.

In other words, is it possible to be evil without being taught to be evil? I'm going to say no on that.

[Azdgari]

...It doesn't mean they never learn anything. It's that they are raised but inherently, as part of their nature independently of how they are raised, they are evil. Not that we really ever talked about that anyway. =P

[Azdgari]

I've always found nihilism to be a cheap cop-out. I think I believe the opposite. If you end up dying and returning to nothing and that's it, then your time on earth isn't nothing, it's everything. And I think that if one really believed in nihilism, they would roll over and die (or become addicted to heroin if they're into having fun beforehand), because nothing they could ever do would have significance.

Of course the universe doesn't care, it's not conscious. But people around you care. So what you do has significance in the way that it affects those around you, since people are interconnected and independence is something of a facade.

[Azdgari]

Fair enough. So what are your morals personally?

[Azdgari]

Okay, I'll rephrase: What are the principles by which you live your life? Are there certain things you personally think are right and wrong?

[Regulus]

I kinda already answered that question, but I'll do it again:

I try not to do anything that I wouldn't want someone to do to me.

[Azdgari]

Helping those who are in need?