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Basically, no.

We humans are such a fantastically complex grouping of bio-organisms that are assembled by a DNA "mix-master" it is a major miracle of Biblical proportions that we even exist to begin with. Scientists have figured out why we are multi-sexual in the fact that our mixing of DNA at each coupling is designed to ward off microbial infestations . . . IE it is a tool for human survival.

Over the many millennium of our existence we have systematically eliminated the bad seeds, so to speak, until recently allowing those bad seeds to flourish – you know, ruling out the death penalty and giving safe havens to terrorist types like Osama Bin-Laden.

Just my not-so-humble opinion. B)

I'll admit to being pleasantly surprised if any human was innately good and would settle for that.

All is asking quite a lot.

Tricky question. I would say that each human being has the capability to do either good or bad- so in that sense, they're basically neutral. It really depends upon the decisions they make and the roads they take that determines whether their actions and lives are 'good' or 'bad'. Of course, from a religious perspective, we all need Jesus, and there are merely different levels of 'bad'- and not even really that.

I believe we are all born with innately-good qualities. Children don't see color, or know political parties, or even who their enemies are. It's what we're all taught. That either ends the innate-goodness, or carrys thru your life..

Actually children do recognize color difference in people. Some hate is taught, some must be untaught. The fuzzy liberal-slanted book "Are We Born Racist?" likes to gloss over the subject and try to make us all feel that racism is easily overcome, but the truth sadly appears to be that (at least neurologically speaking) something like original sin does exist.

Yes Jared!

Firstly, what is good and what is bad? These concepts are subjectively defined. What evidence does exist suggests that we aren't born with moral values.

So why do we have shared morals? There are two reasons. Firstly, we can reason just as did Hobbes, Locke and Rousseau when they were thinking about the state of nature and what that implied about human nature. Hence we're able to reason that such things as murder would not fulfil our emotional desires i.e. we aren't born with a taste for pain, and we fear possible reprisals.

Continued on next post…

Secondly, no group of people is today completely segregated from the global exchange of information, cultural norms etc (other than for short periods of time). In fact for most of history there were cultural exchanges far and wide. Even the Americas were influenced by developments elsewhere in the world prior to 1492 when Columbus discovered the New World. The vikings actually crossed the Atlantic and may even have left settlers in America. So it is perfectly possible for moral values to cross borders and take a hold in different cultures. Freud and Marx both believed that as cultures progressed/changed morals would change in response to a changing society.

Continued on next post… (I guess I should be more succinct in future)

Morals exist in all people but they're flexibly held and vary accross different regions and groups within each society. There are similarities because we share similar circumstances, we share similar sets of information, and we are all influenced by one another in what is kind of a flexible global culture. So whether or not we are all innately good depends on your opinion. Is helping someone do some work an act of kindness or does it merely enforce a culture of learned helplessness?

Rob (http://www.thebigqs.co.uk)

P.S. Take a look at the 'Debate It' part of my new website: http://www.thebigqs.co.uk/blog/debate.html