good vs evil - Revolutionizing human evolution

Why Good People Do Bad Things

Are humans evil?

Are humans inherently evil?

There’s a popular hypothesis that says we are. It’s a great excuse for bad behavior. But believing we can’t help ourselves has never set well with me. Kind of like when some guys use ‘millions of years of evolution’ as an excuse to not be monogamous.

My hypothesis is that humans aren’t inherently evil, and I’m going to tell you why.

In Rutger Bregman’s ‘Humankind: A Hopeful History’, he makes a convincing case for why he doesn’t think humans are evil. He cites another book, William Golding’s ‘The Lord of the Flies” as a popular example arguing against his thesis. He explains that “Lord” is a popular book based on no evidence. In fact, Bregman further describes, the only evidence we know of refutes the premise that humans would behave like they did in Golding’s story.

I think being evil and doing evil are different things. Kind of like how shame is about being bad and guilt is about doing bad. I don’t think people are inherently evil. I believe we are born good. And always have been.

Before I share my thoughts on why I think people are not inherently evil, please allow me to share a story.

My brother is a bicycle rider. He has been my whole life. Sometimes he has to share the road with cars. Thirty years ago he told me he was literally run off the road by an intolerant (evil?) driver. For years I used this story as an example to illustrate that things were getting better. I thought those days were behind us.

Just a few days ago my bro shared more recent anecdotes about having a dirty diaper and a bottle of human urine dumped on him by drivers while riding his bike. WTF is wrong with people?

Were these people evil, or were they just doing bad things?

I refuse to believe people are evil because I don’t think natural selection would have favored it. I think the social nature of homo sapiens depends on lots of positive interactions. I think ‘good’ is considered evolutionarily fit, and thus selected for whereas evil is not.

So, why, then do people do bad things?

I believe people do bad things because of trauma. Acting out distracts people from their pain and provides an escape. A hit of dopamine or oxytocin to cover up their wounds. Probably because other people did bad things to them. Other people who had their own trauma. Who also were not evil.

These people, traumatized people, don’t need our hate. They need our love.

In order to send love to and empathize with people who do bad things, we have to do our own work. This begins with us, as individuals.

Next, we can learn to extend love outward toward people in need. We can demonstrate tolerance and empathy.

Self-awareness is contagious, but it is a luxury. Those of us who have it need to share it. This is the beginning of how we get to where we need to go.

https://www.buzzsprout.com/530563/13666362

https://youtu.be/xUXyjHN2jxQ

“Am I Evil, or Just Angry?” KEW Episode 93: Good vs Evil

Have you ever been sucked into an internet thread and walked away feeling angry?

You know, like a political rant thread? Identity politics? Ad hominem attacks and name-calling?

Isn’t that frustrating?

That sentiment or feeling that other people are just mean, or evil, is part of what motivates this week’s Episode.

Many will argue that people are just ‘bad’, or even ‘evil’, and that’s why we have bad things in the world. Like these internet haters.

But I see it differently.

I think we are all essentially good, and that the evil comes out as a result of some unmet need, struggle, or fear.

I think we have forgotten how to deal with these things, and so we end up spending a lot of time in the ‘evil’ space. And then this spills out into the world.

Argue with me all you want, and I will offer that arguing only illustrates my point. We argue when we feel attacked, or wronged, or threatened. Afraid.

I know it’s hippy-dippy, utopian, and unicorn fart-y, but I honestly believe there is a scenario whereby the ‘evils’ of the world all but go away because of we have figured out how to focus on the good stuff.

Food for thought, anyway.

You can download the podcast audio here: https://pdcn.co/e/https://chtbl.com/track/CGDA9D/www.buzzsprout.com/530563/10431060-kew-episode-93-good-vs-evil.mp3?download=true

And see the YouTube video here: https://youtu.be/soRVjGLWa8o

“It’s Like Lord of the Flies in Here” Preview KEW Episode 93: Good vs Evil

Do you think people are inherently good, or inherently evil?

Like, left to our own devices, will we make decisions that are beneficial or harmful to others?

I have mentioned the Rutger Bregman book, ‘Humankind: A Hopeful History‘ MANY times now on the podcast and this is my inspiration for this episode. For a summary of the brief story below, read the book or see his article in The Guardian.

Spoiler alert, I believe people are basically good, and that the evil comes out when we experience trauma.

Rutger’s awesome book includes the story is that ‘The Lord of the Flies’ (the book by William Golding) has convinced us all that people are inherently evil. The Nobel Price for literature didn’t hurt, but the book has severely damaged our ideas about good and evil.

Golding, apparently, was a pretty disgruntled and troubled fella, so of course he wrote about super dystopian concepts. Also, when real life plane wrecks and isolated survivors really happen, they lean toward good and not some over dramatized cannibalistic evil.

So 2 things there. 1) humans love drama, and 2) there is evidence of people making good choices in the world, despite all the press around the bad ones.

In this Episode I springboard of Bregman’s work. Full post this Friday, right here.

KEW Episode 63: The Two Types of Shoulds

https://videopress.com/v/EOExEX2C?resizeToParent=true&preloadContent=metadata

I recorded this episode after replying to a YouTube comment about good and bad types of change (Episode 61: Change is Hard, but Resisting Change is Wrong). The commenter made a good point that sometimes we change in a bad direction instead of making a positive change.

I agreed but in doing so realized I had a bigger point buried under that. Perhaps another assumption I had failed to realize or express. Which is that I believe the Are motivation is essentially driving GOOD change, and that many SHOULD motivators drive a bad kind of change. But an even BIGGER point was buried even deeper about good vs. evil.

I believe that humans are essentially good. We start out good, and any evil we develop is learned through Should type processes. This might have to do with a book I just finished about whether or not humans are essentially good or evil called Humankind: A Hopeful History, by Rutger Bregman. Rutger argues that we are essentially good, and I’m on that side – at least for now.

So another assumption I have made, perhaps subconsciously, with respect to the Are vs Should Problem is that living from our Are is on the good side whereas living from the Should is leaning toward evil.

HOWEVER, the commenter ALSO made me realize that some shoulds are better than others. Sometimes we tell ourselves we Should eat better, be nicer, be more responsible, get a better job, or whatever. Sometimes these shoulds HELP us move forward.

So I had to break this down a bit:

Ares are intrinsic motivations that come from within us and generally encourage us to be better and come from a good place.

Shoulds can be intrinsic, or appear to be, OR extrinsic.

Intrinsic shoulds are mostly Are, but have some external motivations sprinkled in. Kind of like when I internalized my dads job motivation by conceding that I should change my major so that I could get a job. I internalized an external should, made it my own, and was fooled into thinking it was an Are. And, arguably, it was as it did achieve the goal. Of course, in HINDSIGHT I choose to see that as an extrinsic should that became internalized.

So most Shoulds come from external sources and can be misleading, bad, and downright evil. Shoulds serve to destroy the Are, but the degree to which this is intentional can vary from close to none to entirely.

So three basic choices: Are, Should, Internalized Should that is confusing.

While discussing the multiple types of Shoulds in this Episode, as you will see (or hear), I started formulating what I think will become the next phase of development in the Are vs Should Problem. I hit on the good vs evil elements already, but also posited whether or not we need to look OUTSIDE ourselves to better understand the Ares. I even suggest we learn to love people FAR outside our realm of attention. People that oppose our views or make us angry. I am wondering if we apply what we’ve discussed so far to people at opposite ends of the field if we might learn some new things.

In this episode I break way out of the box to introduce several new concepts that I think are related to future exploration. I started to incorporate the non-analytical parts, or somatic parts, of humans as mechanisms to fully understand our ares. I’m looking forward to seeing where this is leading us. I hope you will listen and share your thoughts.

Podcast audio download: https://pdcn.co/e/https://chtbl.com/track/CGDA9D/www.buzzsprout.com/530563/9178041-kew-episode-63-the-two-types-of-shoulds.mp3?download=true

Or subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever.

YouTube video: https://youtu.be/bhuVQ7wPfOE

KEW Preview Episode 63: The Two Types of Shoulds

https://videopress.com/v/i5rK7cgv?resizeToParent=true&preloadContent=metadata

This Episode started out examining the different kinds of shoulds. Some shoulds come from extrinsic sources like my dad telling me I needed to get a job and not study philosophy in college, or your church telling you not to be gay. Extrinsic shoulds can be pretty easy to identify because they are often things we rebel against, are mean, or are even evil.

Intrinsic shoulds can be complicated. Some are good. We tell ourselves we *should* eat better and not have two pieces of cake. We *should* call our mother more often. Sometimes these shoulds come 100% from within us, but often they are actually extrinsic shoulds disguised as our own. The world has told us not to eat so much cake and that good sons and daughters call their moms more often. So it’s hard.

But I think, inherently, the more we come to know the are and to live in that space, the easier it is to identify whether your shoulds are intrinsic or extrinsic. In other words, I believe humans fundamentally KNOW THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GOOD AND EVIL. It’s just that the more time we spend in the shoulds, we forget.

Like I often do, I wander a bit in this episode toward some emerging elements. I began a shift, in real time, toward a more somatic and external assessment of our personal growth path with respect to the Are vs Should Problem. I even go so far as to suggest we take the focus off ourselves for awhile, and focus on the people around us!

I hope you enjoy the tangents and trust that I will continue to develop these ideas in upcoming Episodes.

Full Episode in audio and video formats this Friday, right here at KEW www.chrisburcher.com.