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Rousseau vs the Bible

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Masterhawk

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When it comes to basic human nature, we get 2 different points of view. The Bible teaches that man is inherently selfish while Roussseau believed that man had a natural instinct to good unto others. So which is it?

Actually, scientists have done a few experiments to determine the basics of human nature. This is a BBC article of an experiment where the researchers did a puppet show where a climber was struggling to climb a hill and one puppet was helping him while the other was hindering him BBC - Future - Are we naturally good or bad?. In the second scene the climber would either move toward the helper or the hinderer. The infants looked for longer if the climber moved towards the hinderer than the helper indicating surprise. This showed that even when a baby hasn't yet been taught morals by its parents, it still shows some natural morality. However, what the experiment did not show is whether humanity was born selfish because neither decision had a positive outcome on the baby itself. If picking the mean puppet over the nice one resulted in candy then the outcome would probably be different.

What are your thoughts on human nature?
 
Masterhawk said:
When it comes to basic human nature, we get 2 different points of view. The Bible teaches that man is inherently selfish while Roussseau believed that man had a natural instinct to good unto others. So which is it?

Actually, scientists have done a few experiments to determine the basics of human nature. This is a BBC article of an experiment where the researchers did a puppet show where a climber was struggling to climb a hill and one puppet was helping him while the other was hindering him BBC - Future - Are we naturally good or bad?. In the second scene the climber would either move toward the helper or the hinderer. The infants looked for longer if the climber moved towards the hinderer than the helper indicating surprise. This showed that even when a baby hasn't yet been taught morals by its parents, it still shows some natural morality. However, what the experiment did not show is whether humanity was born selfish because neither decision had a positive outcome on the baby itself. If picking the mean puppet over the nice one resulted in candy then the outcome would probably be different.

What are your thoughts on human nature?
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Does the Bible teach that man is inherently selfish? That isn't what I was taught.
 
Masterhawk said:
it teaches that man is born sinful which can be interpreted as selfish
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In one sense, yes, but the Bible also speaks of the duality of man, and the internal struggle between our better and worse natures.
 
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