After thinking about the question of whether the nature of humankind was either good or evil, I have decided that I think that it is evil. I think this because slowly humankind is destroying the world that we live in, even knowing the consequences of their unjustified decisions. I believe that the nature of humankind is evil because we are slowly going to destroy everything that lives and flourishes on the earth.
The firrst reason why I think that humankind is evil is because we pollute the earth, even knowing of the horrendous problems that it will cause for future generations. Everyday people will toss their waste onto the ground thinking that someone will come and sanitize the mess that they had left behind. I can walk over to my window and I can see litter just flying around in the wind. People just don't seem to care about things that won't affect them. I think that people only recycle because they are forced to, not because they want to, even though it is a simple task that will help the earth. Before it was mandatory to recycle in my town, you would only see a few recycling bins scattered up the streets. Our polluting the earth is the first reason why I believe that the nature of humankind is evil.
The second thing that makes me believe that the nature of humankind is evil is that we destroy everything that this earth has to offer. We destroy forests for paper. We pollute the air for transportation. Just for an example, I used about 25 pieces of paper for this essay, between all the drafts, and while doing it, I didn't even think about how I was destroying trees. Humankind seems to have some sort of obsession with using more than we actually need. No other species seems to have this problem; they only take what they need and nothing more. Unfortunately, we don't have the skill of understanding when we have enough. Wasting environmental resources is the second reason why I believe that the nature of humankind is evil.
The third and final reason why I believe the nature of humankind is evil is overpopulation. People have children knowing that they won't be able to support them, leaving them hungry, homeless, or even abandoned. With the world's greater population, there is a larger demand for food, water, clothing, and medical supplies. There are not enough resources to support our world's growing population. Overpopulation is the third reason why I think that the nature of humankind is evil.
To sum up my essay, I think that the nature of humankind is evil because
everyone is committing an act of murder somehow. Whether it's killing the earth, the resources, or the future generations, we are destroying our one and only place to live. This is why I believe that the destroying of the earth is what makes humankind evil.
WORLD DEVASTATION
ADAM HOLMES (2002)
This essay was submitted to The National Kids Philosophy Slam. The question was "Is Human Nature Good or Evil?" Adam's essay was selected as a finalist for 2002. The slam officially recognized Abington High School as "The Most Philosophical School in America."