The inherent instinct for the need to survive is active and present in every animal - including us. As a baby, we are completely dependent on those who care for us, to enable us to do that - so our instincts are taken care of. As soon as we are able to distinguish between what we want, and what we don't want - about 7 to 10 months - the "What's in it for me" quality surfaces.
It's not unusual to see extremely young children, 'playing so well together' suddenly have a fit of the screaming abdabs and fly into a tantrum, because Molly has taken Tommy's rattle.....
And I know this isn't the parenting board, but I'm sure we've all seen, at one time or another, a really young child of around two years of age, who seems to have his parents exactly where s/he wants them....
As Freespirit rightly says, we are born with inherent Goodness. But we are also born with inherent badness too.
It's up to our upbringing, social conditioning, morals and ethics - all taught or demonstrated - to determine which 'side' of us wins, or surfaces more often.....
Last edited by Alexandra; 02/28/08 02:37 AM.
