Chai Time Ruminations

Maybe we all aren’t inherently good or bad. Maybe we are a mix of both and we actively decide which we let out.

A toddler may hit, bite, harm (may not necessarily be malicious) and these behaviours usually stem from the need to get something or their way of expressing a range of emotions such as anger and sorrow. Only when adults intervene and teach them that such behaviours are bad and must not be engaged in then do they learn to act in ways which are thought to be ‘good’. From Freud’s perspective, we are innately driven by our instincts guided by the pleasure principle and as we grow, we learn of morals and values which develops our morality principle. what is good and bad is something taught and sometimes may even be innately felt (e.g. a kid may not like hurting someone if they see the other person cry as a result of their actions and thus may refrain from such behaviours to avoid causing such reactions). Maybe we are a mix virtuous and evil and as we grow, our situations, perceptions, culture, relations, history, upbringings etc shape how much of good or bad we are made up of.