VIEW OF HUMAN NATURE BY WORLD RELIGION AND PHILOSOPHERS

BY ABDUSAMED AHMED

ISLAM
According to the Qur'an, Allah "created man from a clot of blood" at the same time he created the jinn from fire.

Humans are the greatest of all creatures

Fitrah is the original nature of man, uncorrupted and pure Allah (God) says in the Quran, which Muslims believe is His word,
And by oath of the soul, and Him Who perfected it in proportion. Then He showed it what is wrong for it and what is right. Indeed, he succeeds who purifies his self And indeed he fails who corrupts his (Ash-Shams 91:7-10)

GOOD AND BAD

God's stressing man to do good

Peoples faith is only manifested in their good or bad deeds. .*Whoever works righteousness, man or woman, and has faith, We will give him a life that is good and pure, and We will bestow on such their reward according to the best of their actions.] (An-Nahl 16:97). *For those who believe and work righteous deeds is a reward that will never fail.] (Fussilat 41:8) On the contrary,

*Taste the penalty of eternity for your evil deeds.+ (As-Sajdah 32:14) *If any does evil, the doers of evil are only punished to the extent of their deeds.+ (AlQasas 28:84)

SUMMARY

Man can use its power for good as well as for A knife can be used for peeling fruits and vegetables as well as for killing people. Its up to the man choice whether or not to suffer the consequences

Man has free will

CHRISTIANITY

Augustinian and Pelagian.

The Augustinians believe that the sin of Adam has been transmitted through the generations
Humans are therefore naturally evil Pelagians
believe that people can be saved through good works

Whereas in Islam, every soul will bear it's own good and bad.

BUDDHIST VIEWS OF HUMAN NATURE

The Buddhist understanding is that good and evil are innate, inseparable aspects of life.
Moreover, good and evil in Buddhism are seen not as absolute but relative or "relational. The good or evil of an act is understood in terms of its actual impact on our own lives and the lives of others

Evil actions are those which are based on a narrow selfishness

Good is that which generates connection between ourselves and others, healing and restoring the bonds among human societies.

TAOISM
As a concept, Taoist do not hold the position of good against evil They see good and evil as dualities One labels something evil, one automatically creates evil The reality of good and evil is that all actions contain some aspect of each.

This is represented by the yin-yang symbol.

Any action would have some negative (yin) and some positive (yang) aspect to it.

Taoists believe that nature is a continual balance between yin and yang
That any attempt to go toward one extreme or the other will be ineffective

SIKHISM
The purpose of evil is to test the character of man. According to Guru Nanak: Suffering is the remedy and comfort the disease. The mind of man is more prone to evil than to good. Man is slow to take to virtue but swift to succumb to vice Evil actions arise from evil thinking, motivated by
lust Anger

Greed
Pride

Egoism is the greatest of all evil, because it creates a wall between man and the Creator.

CONFUCIANISM

Confucianism is a way of life taught by Confucius in the 6th5th century BC. 'By nature men are similar; by practice men are wide apart Important differences in human beings are determined by environment and education, by the habits and preferences they develop and the lives they lead. Confucius never stated whether man was born good or evil, noting that 'By nature men are similar; by practice men are wide apart'

FAMOUS PHILOSOPHER'S PERSPECTIVE ON THE HUMAN NATURE

DEMOCRITUS (460-370 BC):
He believed that the goal of life is happiness. Goodness depends upon man's inner desire.

SOCTRATES (470-390 BC):

This great Greek Philosopher thought that the most important question before man is the determination of good and evil. `O man! Know thyself' Self-realization brings real happiness. `No man is voluntarily bad. He turns bad when he does not know what is good and what is evil. If he knew what is good, he was sure to choose it

PLATO (428-348 BC):

Man is endowed with the knowledge of good and evil before coming to this world. Experience also helps in recollection of the forgotten. All good and evil is innate in man.