The Purpose of the Natural Man

The Purpose of the Natural Man

What separates man from animal is nothing more than what has been categorized as Human nature, but what Is Human nature? What actions of man can actually be considered as being a causation of his nature? Is Human nature good or is it evil? In order to answer these questions we must first understand what is good and what is evil. The definition of good is said to be moral excellence or admirableness, that which is good or valuable or useful, beneficial. The definition of evil is said to be morally objectionable behavior, that which causes harm or destruction or misfortune, morally wrong in principle or practice There are many people who feel that Human nature is evil because of the theory that Human's are never satisfied but, you have others who define Human nature as being good; a natural idea of survival in peace. Throughout history many philosophers have attempted to present a theoretically correct summary on the topic of human nature. Human Nature is Good, Human nature is evil, The Second Treatise on government, Discourse on the arts and sciences, Leviathan and the 1844 Manuscripts are all examples of literature in which philosophers have expressed their theory. Mencius, Hsun Tzu, John Locke, Jean Jacques Rousseau, Thomas Hobbes, and Karl Marx all used these works of literature to express their different theories and explain why they have chosen that theory. When it comes to topic of Human Nature I would have to say that I agree with a small portion of each philosopher's theory.

According to Mencius the universal idea of human nature is good. In his essay "Human nature is good" he stated "Man's nature is naturally good just as water flows downward. There is no man without good". By comparing man's nature to the flow of water he is explaining that man's nature is good naturally without cause or reason just like water flows in a downward direction for no explained reason. He then goes on to say that "Man can be made to do evil" which means that even though man's nature is good if put into a situation where one's family or life is at stake man can turn evil. According to Mencius "the feeling of right and wrong is found in all men" which is what separates man from animal. He also believes "In good years most of the young people behave well, in bad years most of them abandon themselves to evil". He does not feel this is due to "any difference in the natural capacity endowed by heaven"