All accounts and stories of how man came to be showcase humans as being good in nature. From the accounts of creation, to those who believe the origin of man to be from the gods, man has always been portrayed as being pure. The accounts explain that a man was sinless when he came to be. The reason is that nature played a crucial part in maintaining the divineness of man until he regrouped to form a society. Nature was depicted as being filled with goodness. In nature, everything is devoid of any evil or sin. What remains is only pureness. Therefore, man possesses the same kind of purity in him since nature contributed to his origin. All the accounts are given to how man came to be having nature as a reference point. According to Montaigne, societies that were ruled by nature were free from evil.
He objectively provides an example of a community that danced from morning till evening, ate a single meal every day and derived all their teachings from what nature offered. Such a society was free from the evil brought about by the vices that are present in it, because of the nature. It would be suitably correct to point out that when man first existed, his soul was free from any corruptions. He could not lie because he did not know the benefits of it; he could not kill and he could not cause harm. Man was guided by nature and the gods, and was, therefore, pure. Moreover, there existed a strong belief in the gods, who forbid all kinds of sin. One was required to maintain their goodness and appease the gods. They live in a contented world and only go to war because they have rivals (Montaigne, Michel de, 158). They do not do it for material possessions nor do they feel the need to expand their territories. Such a society was filled with the goodness that is in man's nature.
Society is indeed corruptive. The evidence found in the comparison of societies that lived centuries ago and the revolutionized society. In the latter, political, economic and social aspects have become the norms. Nature plays a very minute role in the growth of society. Society has been torn apart by these factors. In a revolutionized society, greediness for political and economic satisfaction has corrupted the good nature of humans. Humans have been compelled to struggle for survival, which has led to vices such as greed, dishonesty and theft. Because the society has become tough to live in, selfishness has taken root. Humans are no longer a single entity living communally because society has subjected people to individualism. The economic aspect of life has driven humans into categorizing themselves in groups in the society.
Since the society has presented this as the only means of survival, people have to lie, steal and kill in pursuit of individual goals. It is the transformation of society from a communal entity that relied upon nature into an individual-based system that has corrupted the nature of humans. The divisions in society gave rise to social classes, political pursuits and rankings which then led to corruption of nature, since everybody is after the advantageous positions in society. Individuals in the progressed society would do anything to belong to a well-placed class as opposed to the lower. Therefore, corruption of the natural virtues humans created had been enhanced by society, especially the revolutionized one.
Rousseau argues that the state of nature in man was changed from a timid and trembling creature to a savage human being by his surroundings. He explained that the man was forced to live in a society with animals. He constantly had to defend himself from their rogue nature. His good nature highlighted itself when he chose to act and behave differently from the animals. He could not compare himself to the animals and chose a different lifestyle, which included his diet. However, with, time, he began acquiring animalistic attributes. Such attributes fuelled by the competition for survival in a limited ecosystem. Later, man passed this attributes to his children, who formed the society. The modernized versions of government and leadership made the situation worse, and evil completely took over the nature of humans. Humans have to follow a set of rules, as opposed to animals in the wild that run free. They have to obey even those that are not in their favor. The lesser people have to follow in the footsteps of the more fortunate. Such an environment is bound to bring out the animalistic nature that was acquired by man. Different professionals have professed to there being natural traits and acquired traits. Humans born with natural traits that was good. However, with time, they acquired bad traits. Through the rules imposed by the society, the acquired traits manifested themselves.
Society has given man the kind of liberalism that nature has not afforded him. The society that followed the voice of nature lived within the goodness of the nature of man. However, the society that has grown into aspects of civilization has given humans the freedom of choice. In nature, man could not choose. There was only the option of following what nature wanted, or what the natural thing to do was. Humans were made of instincts, which nature exemplified. Therefore, the society has given man many ways in which he can exercise his ideas and choose. The liberty given by the society has corrupted the nature of man. Instincts no longer have an effect as they did to the primitive man. The primitive man had no knowledge of his choices. He simply followed instincts. Because instincts were based on a nature, and the nature of man is good, he did not partake in activities that were bad. He only used his instincts to do the right thing.
However, the society that preaches liberty has corrupted humans by giving them the opportunity to engage in bad behavior. The activities they undertake then become bad habits that corrupt a substantive part of their nature. At the primitive stage, before society was completely functional, humans were ignorant, and their souls were devoid of any influences. They remained pure in a communal sense. They had no outside factors to influence how they thought or behaved. They only relied on their instincts, forged by the pureness of their souls. However, the formation of the society changed all these. Society changed how they treated each other. It made humans acquire knowledge and discover things such as liberty, which later proved to be corruptive.
Rousseau observes that despite the wickedness showcased by man, there are signs of compassion that are exhibited. There are certain individuals who cry when they see the suffering of others and those who give to ease such sufferings (Rousseau, Jean-Jacque, 68). Therefore, if the man is from the same origins, why is there a difference in characteristics? The truth is everyone is born with goodness because they are from the same species. Humans are all the same based on their nature. The society, however, has poisoned a section of them and influenced them towards brutality. The mere fact that there are those who cry over the misfortune of others is an example of a good nature. Therefore, that section of the human population is a reference of their nature. The philosopher argues that all men would have been monsters had it not been for nature. Because of the nature, society has only managed to corrupt a part of the population. In addition, aspects such as friendship are based on the compassion exhibited through human nature. Even though there are aspects of individualism in the society today, friendships still exist. People love others who are not related to them, which show that humans have a good nature. However, through aspects such as jealousy, fostered by society through materialistic things, these friendships break. They were replaced by hatred, a vice that has destroyed the society. Such compassion has been replaced by logic and reason. Society has forced people to be reasonable, as opposed to when they would do things because they are right. Humans were forced into having debates with their minds, which has resulted in selfishness. For instance, a person will not share what they have because they are thinking about tomorrow.
They have to reason with themselves and let logic replace the compassion they might feel for another starving human. Such instances have been triggered by the economic issues in the society today that make life hard. The political atmosphere has triggered brutality as man has extended his passions to the need to feel important. The politics in society explain the tyranny of otherwise good men. Aspects of social class have also instigated the need for men to be more advantageous than others, and have led to a competition that has replaced the togetherness in the society. Based on all the above, it is obvious that humans are good in nature, but society has influenced the bad characters they often manifest.
Even though human beings have been forced to use reason to perform their dailies, the natural passions they possess has led to the improvement of their logic. However, because of the passions humans naturally possess, the less corrupt members of society would still help the suffering member of their species. Therefore, even though society might use aspects of logic to corrupt the goodness in humans, they still possess the natural passions and instincts that form a big part of who they are. It was those passions that make the difference between man and animals. Animals act based on their animalistic instincts. The instincts do not possess the same degrees of passion available in human beings. It was through such passions that people were referred to animals when they exemplify a nature that is contrary to that of human beings.
Works cited
Montaigne, Michel de [1588]. "On Cannibals" in The Complete Essays of Montaigne. (1965) Translated by Donald M. Frame. Stanford: Stanford University Press
Rousseau, Jean-Jacque "A Dissertation on the Origin and Foundation of the Inequality of Mankind", part 1, in The Social Contract and Discourses. (1973) G.D.H. Cole, transl. NY: Dutton,
