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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Incenjucar" data-source="post: 1634337" data-attributes="member: 6182">While I agree, Gez, with that story as a general notion (that is, most people are more or less evil at heart), I'll be damned if I agree that it's true for everyone.I've had boundless opportunities to do wrong.  I've even mused over how easy it would be.  But you know what?  After two years of being locked in to a store sometimes -alone-, knowing full well that I could sneak a candy bar or a packet of gum rather easily, considering how many people shoplifted in that town, and even just left wrappers all over the store, I never did.  Heck, they still owe me about six dollars because I was in too big a hurry to wait for them to get me some change.  Similarly, I walked half-way out of a store on two or three occassions, only to find that I was given more change than I should have, and quickly walked back in and got my proper, smaller change.And, being an atheist, I don't have anything to fear from being evil beyond the law.  I just have no desire to do what I consider wrong just because I can get away with it.Call me crazy.Mind you, I'm damned sure not good, and I know it.  I'm just not a thief, a sneak, or the like.  I have plenty of cruel thoughts to mix with my wholesome ones, mostly because of a sadistic 'get what you deserve' nature (Basically, I catch someone smacking a cat for fun, I'm going to make them limp for a week at least, which is slightly too far to be justified as justice).  Not everyone is tempted to wrongdoing just because they can get away with it.  Just most people.---Honestly, I don't agree that good and evil are mirror images.  It's like saying that chaos and law are completely opposite, when once in awhile chaos, by its nature, embraces law.  The fact that you can be supremely evil, but do great good on occassion, while it's much harder to do the other way around, is part of this.However:If someone truly wishes, deep in their heart, to do good and be helpful, but they're too afraid to do so, but their nature makes them wish beyond anything that they could, they're good.  If, deep down in their heart, they want the endorphine rush that feeling that you've done good affords, they're neutral (the hero who pats himself on the back and brags about saving the town).  If the reason, deep down in their heart, that they want to be kind is because that's how they were taught, that's likely lawful.  If they convince themselves that one reason is true, but deep down in their hearts, the other is true (like how many a villain thinks they want to save X, but they actually want vengeance for Y), than the one that is deep in their subconscious is their real motive, and the only one that counts.Consider Spiderman.  He's a very human, very selfish character rather often.  While he has a genuine care for others, and in many cases, deep down, does good just to do good, his acts are usually good.  However, very often, his acts are driven at least as much by a lawful sense of duty, as penence for the death of his uncle, or because he gets an adrenaline rush out of the hero role.  While he's definately a good guy, not every rescue Spiderman does is good.  Indeed, sometimes he'd much rather strangle the person, as when he saves a foe, but his lawful nature keeps him from the temptation of evil.One of the big issues, though, is that most people consider themselves good.  Humans are, at best, mostly neutral.  Give them access to power, and they tend to prove evil.  Some say power corrupts, I find that power just lets your true nature show.--I definately agree with you in that N(E) and NE should be considered seperate.The person who likes to scare the hell out of people and make them wet themselves, or the person who likes to steal from the rich person out of sheer spite for them isn't anywhere as evil as the person who builds an army of enslaved souls just so they can wallow in the blood of the innocent.</blockquote>

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