is this a religion or philosophical standpoint of any kind?

[angL]

is there a belief system out there that believes humans are evil deep down, and that society is what makes us "not evil"? I heard someone say something about this before, but I dont know anything about it. is it a religion, or is there a word for it or something similar?

I think i heard someone say the author of "lord of the Flies" believed in something similar, but i couldn't find any information on it

 

[enchanted_one1975]

If you believe it with your heart it can be your religion. Nobody can tell you otherwise.

Well they can tell you otherwise, but that does not mean they are right.

 

[wmjbyatt]

If you've read The Lord of the Flies, it's pretty clear that such is the case. Socratic dialogues also present the idea that it is society which makes us moral, but the idea then is not that we are IMMORAL deep down, but rather that without society we are AMORAL, which simply means that morality as a whole is a social construction, which makes an awful lot of sense.

A lot of Christian faiths--notably Catholicism--also suggest that we are born with evil on our souls (that is the notion of Original Sin) and that following Christ and God can lead us not only to eternal bliss, but temporal goodness and positive morality.

 

[Madhuri]

Well, it is only certain religions that believe in 'evil'. There are probably 'Christians' who interpret the world and its inhabitants as being children of Satan, or controlled by Satan (evil) and that only by accepting Jesus as saviour can this evil nature be overcome.

It's all quite absurd.

In Lord of the Flies, I think the boy's name is Roger who is sadistic. It's been a while since I read this. The sadistic boy is 'evil' but they are not all evil and the message of that book is nothing to do with people being evil by nature.

For anyone with common sense, evil is not our nature. And for anyone who doesn't subscribe to some particular religions, there is no such thing as 'evil' or 'the devil'. And I think often times it is society that makes us do bad things as well as good things.

 

[LuisDantas]

Evil is what happens when people are pressured too far. It is contagious, but it does not have a will.

As for the OP's question. I would say that I have never heard of a name for that exact belief, which is perhaps a bit self-contradictory (society is a collective of individuals, after all).

Come to think of it, the closest I know of is in fact Fascism, which believes that the individual must be guided by the State so that it does not commit mistakes. Of course, Fascism is a social disease...

Still, as for beliefs proper, the idea that the individual is inherently "evil" is sort of equivalent to the Abrahamic (or perhaps only Christian?) idea of Original Sin. The idea that society heals corruption is a bit more generalized and may perhaps be reflected by the concept of Dharma or even in the Positivist doctrine of Comte.

This may be the first time ever that I compare Dharma to Positivism, btw. Congrats!

 

[Midnight Pete]

For anyone with common sense, evil is not our nature.

How do you account for all the evil in the world? All the cruelty? All the violence and hatred?

You're aware of the recent gay teen suicides? If that doesn't illustrate the sinful nature of mankind, I don't know what would. Those kids had tormentors who literally told them they'd be better off dead, that no one would miss them. How do you account for this if evil is not our nature?

 

[dust1n]

is there a belief system out there that believes humans are evil deep down, and that society is what makes us "not evil"? I heard someone say something about this before, but I dont know anything about it. is it a religion, or is there a word for it or something similar?

I think i heard someone say the author of "lord of the Flies" believed in something similar, but i couldn't find any information on it

There is no single definition to describe that that I am aware of, but you would have to be a number of things to believe that was true, e.g. Moral Absolutism, etc.

Here's a religion founded on a similar theory.

Church of Euthanasia

 

[LuisDantas]

How do you account for all the evil in the world? All the cruelty? All the violence and hatred?

Nearly all of it is basically lack of wisdom and skill in dealing with emotions and other drives.

You're aware of the recent gay teen suicides? If that doesn't illustrate the sinful nature of mankind, I don't know what would.

Then maybe nothing will. Why would gay teen suicides illustrate such a hypothetical sinful nature of mankind, anyway?

Those kids had tormentors who literally told them they'd be better off dead, that no one would miss them. How do you account for this if evil is not our nature?

We have learned it from people that are unwise yet convincing. As we nearly always do. Evil is contagious, but not inherent.

 

[Midnight Pete]

Evil is contagious, but not inherent.

Evil is both contagious and inherent. I don't understand why anyone would deny the existence of evil.

 

[LuisDantas]

Evil does exist. But certainly not as an inherent property of mankind. Unless, I suppose, you choose to call ignorance "evil". It isn't really, but it is the seed of evil.