Thread: Innately Evil

Morals and principles are of the mind, not of the body. So whether our physical bodies evolved from beasts or not, our minds are nothing like the unaware consciousness of animals.

But it doesn't take removing these instincts to be remain good. It simply takes self-discipline and strong morals and ideals, which sorely lack in our society nowadays.
Apathy is like a plague. Less people are willing to stand up for their morals and principles. Everyone aims towards being tolerant of absolutely everyone and everything that does no harm, etc.

So, truly, even though our body doesn't hold ultimate sway over our mind, it may very well be allowed to do so if we fall into a state of apathy and lack the needed morals and ideals to uphold the goodness inside us. But then we wouldn't turn evil either, for evil is also a conscious effort, when one has strong ideals and ambitions. With apathy taking over, we'll simply degrade to savages.

Originally Posted by Merlock

Morals and principles are of the mind, not of the body. So whether our physical bodies evolved from beasts or not, our minds are nothing like the unaware consciousness of animals.

But it doesn't take removing these instincts to be remain good. It simply takes self-discipline and strong morals and ideals, which sorely lack in our society nowadays.
Apathy is like a plague. Less people are willing to stand up for their morals and principles. Everyone aims towards being tolerant of absolutely everyone and everything that does no harm, etc.

So, truly, even though our body doesn't hold ultimate sway over our mind, it may very well be allowed to do so if we fall into a state of apathy and lack the needed morals and ideals to uphold the goodness inside us. But then we wouldn't turn evil either, for evil is also a conscious effort, when one has strong ideals and ambitions. With apathy taking over, we'll simply degrade to savages.

If the theory of evolution holds true, then everything evolved from other animals. Including our brains. Animals who had these characteristics used them to survive in the wild. The ones who had these characteristics survived, and they passed them on to us.

We can try to keep these instincts under control, yes... but they won't ever disappear. Not until we evolve, that is.

First, the mind isn't the brain.
Second, we don't need to get rid of our instincts. They're what add to who we are. We simply need to upkeep our ideals and principles to have control over our instincts.

thegnome54
Changes in brain function over time are a manifestation of cerebral plasticity. These changes occur as a mechanical effect of the data being input into the system - as you mentioned, a different world (different inputs) would create a different brain.

That being said, I see no reason to separate the brain and "mind". It seems like a false dichotomy, or worse - an invention (what is this 'mind' thing, anyways?). The brain as a biological machine is capable of undergoing all of the changes mentioned, as well as producing emotions and higher thought.

Under my definitions, your question can be rephrased as 'can the brain control the brain'? I suppose the answer would be 'yes', then, although it's very likely that the idea of 'control' is an illusion created by the brain - the brain's mechanical functioning (which results in your actions) is not really the result of conscious decisions, but rather the other way around. (Yes, that means that I believe free will is an illusion)

I don't want to get into a mind vs. the Brain - that's for another thread.

Oh, yes, I'm all for keeping our instincts. Easily exploited. If you can have complete self control over them then you would be good.

Grod

1. James Bond is a hero, for all I know.

2. You're missing the point of what Merlock said.

And for the mind/brain thing... it's a whole different spoon of soup. When Merlock says 'mind' he means the subjective phenomenological experience of existing (qualia). That which remains if you take out certain parts of your brain. That which you can't cut in half.

Also, copy/pasting a post from someone smarter than you isn't cool.

Originally Posted by Korittke

Grod

1. James Bond is a hero, for all I know.

2. You're missing the point of what Merlock said.

And for the mind/brain thing... it's a whole different spoon of soup. When Merlock says 'mind' he means the subjective phenomenological experience of existing (qualia). That which remains if you take out certain parts of your brain. That which you can't cut in half.

Also, copy/pasting a post from someone smarter than you isn't cool.

1. Your attempt to be clever isn't working.

2. No, you are. He clearly referred to the mind as some sort of existence of the brain. I quoted gnome on a post he made. What are you talking about?

I gave him the due credit he made for creating that post. Have you ever used a source before?

What kind of argument is "animals are evil?" The prevailing view is more like animals are innocent.

Regardless, we evolved from social animals, not solitary predators. Our ancestors have very likely been social animals much farther back than the primate phase of our evolution. Love and compassion are our survival instincts. Maintaining social bonds and helping one another are our survival instincts. Most often you see these instincts distorted in individuals who were 'cut off from the pack' in childhood, isolated in a loveless situation, or given distorted models of love.

Yes, bad things happen. We do what we can, as a society, to correct the situation, but we still have a lot of work to do.