Is evil a part of human nature?

Answer 1

To answer this you really need to look at what you mean by human nature.

Are you asking, "is it natural for humans to commit evil acts?"

To this end, then, yes evil is a part of human nature. Humans are driven by chemical impulses over which they seem to exhibit little control. These impulses are dependant on many factors that are difficult to tease apart, but they do certainly drive people to commit what are essentially evil acts.

Are you asking "is evil justifiable by being referred to as a part of human nature?"

To this end, I would say that no, Evil is an avoidable act (for a free person). The yardstick for evil is here important, and it could be said that it is impossible to avoid any evil actions, but you can choose the lesser of two evils when these are the only options present. So, some evil is certainly justifiable to this end, but it is most certainly not possible to justify the amount of evil in this world by dismissing it as part of human nature.

Evil is a human construct, so in that regard it is also part of human nature. Without humans, there would be no concept of evil, but as to whether evil would still be present; yes, perhaps. There are feeling beings apart from us. Some have been suggested to kill for pleasure, which could certainly be considered evil, but the most common reply is that they are honing their hunting instincts. A 'neccesary' evil, such as killing for food could be considered in the best interests of survival, and if your definition of evil includes these 'necessary' evils, then evil most certainly exists in the world, with or without humans, and is, furthermore, unavoidable.

Another Answer:

Human Nature means what is inherent in all human. Living being in this world include human, animal and plant. The difference between human and animal is large due to what is inherent in human which animal does not have. Human has the mind to discrimate what is good and what is evil while animal does not. Like human, animal need to survive. They either 'fight' for survival or 'flight' for survival but they does not has the mind to discriminate good or bad. Sometime we use the word 'heart' or 'conscience' to describe this mind of discrimination. Although the 'heart' or 'conscience' is inherent in human, the level or standard or quality of this' heart' is not the same in everyone, e.g. the quality of heart of say, Hitler and that of Mother Teresa is defintely not the same or between a social worker and a murderer. For example, if you leave your money on the front seat of your 'unlock' car, 2 things could possibly happen - some one may steal your money or someone may lock your car on your behalf to prevent the money from being stolen; one has an evil intention while the other has good intention and this is due to the quality of the 'heart' or 'conscience' or the discriminating mind, which is inherent in all of us. So, what is evil or good depend on our 'heart'.