Naturally Evil or Naturally Nice?

Are human beings naturally caring, nice people? Or are they born with the desire to please no one but themselves? These questions have been asked by philosophers and curious minds alike since the beginning of civilization.

In "This is Water" by David Foster Wallace, Wallace has the extreme belief that all human beings are naturally selfish. It is humans' "natural default-setting"(234) to be self-centered and oblivious to the feelings of others. This is due to the fact that "there is no experience you've had that you were not at the absolute center of"(233).

Whether it is your own birthday party or one for your friend, it is remembered through your own mind and viewpoint. You remember every events through your owns eyes, and even if you experience the same thing as someone else, you each have your own opinions and takeaways.

If Wallace's belief that humans are selfish is true, does that make humans evil? Does seeing things through your own viewpoint mean you are a naturally evil person?

No, just because you can't physically go into someone else's mind and see things through their perspective doesn't mean you can't be a good person. It is true that "other people's thoughts and feelings have to be communicated to you"(233), but it is possible to alter your natural selfish mindset to include the feelings of others. If we "keep reminding ourselves"(235) to take into account other people, our mindsets can be changed to help others.

Back to the question of humans being naturally evil or naturally nice. I believe that most humans are naturally good people, but have a hard time when they try to help others. It is true that our "natural default-setting"(234) is to be self-centered, but that doesn't stop the majority of people from at least trying to see things from a different perspective. In general, people would jump at the chance to do a good deed or help a fellow neighbor, but due to their inability to see things through someone else's mind, they often don't know how to help or feel awkward in doing so.

In general, human beings are naturally good and enjoy helping others, but don't always have to ability to do so. No one is born with a passion to hurt others, but some people do turn to the devil on their shoulder. In a perfect world everybody would be able to exclusively listen to the angel whispering the right thing to do.