Human Nature: Inherently Good or Inherently Evil?

[Gatekeeper]

O.k. IF the things of the spirit of God are discerned spiritually then this would make sense. Even so, the natural man lacks the ability to discern spiritual things. Surely this is because they lack the knowledge and understanding to do so. Again, we are born without knowledge, but as we grow and develop, and learn it becomes easier to understand the spiritual aspects of life.

 

[Etu Malku]

O.k. IF the things of the spirit of God are discerned spiritually then this would make sense. Even so, the natural man lacks the ability to discern spiritual things. Surely this is because they lack the knowledge and understanding to do so. Again, we are born without knowledge, but as we grow and develop, and learn it becomes easier to understand the spiritual aspects of life.

What if we are to throw in the Jungian concept of Collective Unconsciousness into this equation?
That, DNA and genetic makeup seems to point towards prior knowledge of things

 

[Gatekeeper]

What if we are to throw in the Jungian concept of Collective Unconsciousness into this equation?
That, DNA and genetic makeup seems to point towards prior knowledge of things

I'm not familiar with the Jungian concept so I can't really comment on it. I honestly don't see how a new born can have any idea of how life works until it is experienced. There may be instinctual behaviors, but they don't equate to knowledge or understanding.

 

[Etu Malku]

I'm not familiar with the Jungian concept so I can't really comment on it. I honestly don't see how a new born can have any idea of how life works until it is experienced. There may be instinctual behaviors, but they don't equate to knowledge or understanding.

I won't go into the Jungian concept, though:

Innatism is a philosophical doctrine that holds that the mind is born with ideas/knowledge, and that therefore the mind is not a 'blank slate' at birth, as early empiricists such as John Locke claimed. It asserts therefore that not all knowledge is obtained from experience and the senses.
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It's difficult to dismiss the child Prodigy that sits down at the piano at age 5 and improvises beautifully.

A few child prodigy's include Mozart in music, Magnus Carlsen, Sergey Karjakin, and Judit Polgar in chess, Carl Friedrich Gauss, Srinivasa Ramanujan, William James Sidis, Michael Kearney, Gregory R. Smith, and John von Neumann in mathematics, and Pablo Picasso in art

 

[Gatekeeper]

I won't go into the Jungian concept, though:

Innatism is a philosophical doctrine that holds that the mind is born with ideas/knowledge, and that therefore the mind is not a 'blank slate' at birth, as early empiricists such as John Locke claimed. It asserts therefore that not all knowledge is obtained from experience and the senses.
Read Article

It's difficult to dismiss the child Prodigy that sits down at the piano at age 5 and improvises beautifully.

A few child prodigy's include Mozart in music, Magnus Carlsen, Sergey Karjakin, and Judit Polgar in chess, Carl Friedrich Gauss, Srinivasa Ramanujan, William James Sidis, Michael Kearney, Gregory R. Smith, and John von Neumann in mathematics, and Pablo Picasso in art

Thanks for the link. You mentioned several talents in various fields, but isn't it possible that some people are simply geared to excel at certain things? As I stated, knowledge and understanding are acquired from living, experiencing, and through environmental influence. We learn things according to our abilities. Some people simply have better capabilities to learn and develop their skills than others. For example, some have a natural ability to sing, while others must develop their vocal ability through vocal exercises and such. I really don't think it has anything to do with prior knowledge such as knowing how to play the piano. We learn at our own pace and everyone is different.