Well, one thing that seems to have come up a bit in the discussions is the idea of "evil" attributes being either learned from society, or possibly being innate within us. However, there is a part of this argument that is a bit skewed: our view of what attributes are evil, and why having them is important.
Depending on the culture we are raised in, different values are taught to be more or less important than others. According to most media, especially those aimed at younger children, Ambition seems to rarely be depicted as something positive. However, if no one had any sense of ambition at all, nothing would ever progress because no one would have any motivation.
Also, the case that these "evil" virtues come from the same places as the "good" ones could easily be made. Imagine for a moment a world where there were no negative emotions, no "evil" sides to human action or thought, where there was nothing but cooperation and sweetness and order. There arises a very important problem: this would be the only thing we would know. We would effectively be cut away from a full understanding of ourselves and the world around us because we could not even imagine something different than what we are. In a way, having "evil" traits exist in the world is one of the best ways to show us how to live, because it gives us a distinction, and a choice.
Thoughts on this anyone?
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