The topic of tonight's debate is that human nature is good, and the opposing side's position is that human nature is evil. The positions of both sides were decided by drawing lots. Now I declare the final of 1993 International University Debate Competition officially started. First of all, Mr. Wu stated his position in the positive debate and spoke for three minutes (applause).
Wu: Hello, everyone! The philosopher Kant believes that people are rational regardless of intelligence, wealth, beauty and ugliness. Mencius believed that human nature is good, so he added that everyone has compassion. According to Buddhists, clinging to one's true self and feeling with one's heart is Buddha. Because of human nature, one can put down the butcher's knife and become a Buddha anytime and anywhere. We advocate that human nature is good, which is the fundamental point of human nature. Only when there is a good end can there be good deeds. We don't deny that there are evil deeds in human society, but these evil deeds are caused by the external environment, so evil is the result rather than the cause. If we insist that evil is the result, that is to say, human nature is evil, then there is no real morality in the world. Although Hobbes, a British philosopher, strongly advocates that human beings can form morality on the premise of evil human nature, think about it. If human nature is evil, then all human moral norms are the greatest means of self-interest. In other words, once a person violates morality without being punished, he will not abide by moral constraints. Walking on the road at two o'clock in the morning, I saw a red light. If human nature is evil, I will rush over, because it is only for personal convenience. But in fact, this is not the case. According to the premise that human nature is evil, Hobbes believes that there must be an absolute and ubiquitous authority to supervise everyone's implementation of moral standards. If human nature is evil, no one will willingly abide by the moral standards, but it has been proved that people still have good deeds, people still have morality, or that people's behavior is beneficial. If human nature is evil, then we have only two choices: the first is to live in a world where "big brother" constantly monitors us; The second is that our human society will no longer trust each other. If so, I will see an old lady fall and someone help her up, and people will say that he has ulterior motives; However, we will find that in human history and society, there has never been an absolutely authoritative monarch, but things that sacrifice themselves for others are constantly happening. In life, there are even more disciples who are unknown to others. Mother Teresa's kindness and Mahayana Buddhism say that "all beings will never cross, but they will never become Buddhists". (Time is up) Thank you! (Applause).
PRESIDENT: Thank you, Miss NG. Next, I invite Ms. Jiang Feng, the first representative of the opposing party, to state her position and speak for three minutes. (Applause).
Jiang Feng: Thank you, Chairman. Hello! I want to point out that Kant is not a good theorist. Kant also said: "Evil afflicts us not because of human nature, but because of the cruel selfishness of human beings." Don't take it out of context. In addition, all kinds of good deeds mentioned by the other party are completely acquired. How to explain the "essence" in our proposition? Myth belongs to myth and reality belongs to reality. Another classmate asks you to take off your rose glasses and see the real world. In the three minutes of your speech, how many wars, violence, robberies and rapes happened in this world? If human nature is really good, where do these evils come from? Why did the other party avoid answering this question from beginning to end in his speech? Our position is that human nature is evil.
First, human nature consists of social attributes and natural attributes, and natural attributes refer to unrestrained instincts and desires, which are human nature and innate; Social attributes are acquired through social life and social education. When we say that human nature is evil, we mean that human nature is original and innate.
Second, when it comes to good and evil, just as there will be a thousand Hamlets in a thousand viewpoints, there may be a thousand standards of good and evil in a thousand people's minds. But in the final analysis, evil refers to the uncontrolled expansion of instinct and desire, and good refers to the reasonable restraint of instinct. We say that human nature is evil, which is based on the infinite expansion trend of human natural tendency. Didn't Cao Cao say, "I would rather lose the world than the world lose me"? Didn't Louis XV also say, "Even after my death, there will be a terrible flood". There is also an English boy who sold his three-year-old sister in order to get a bike. Can these people still say that human nature is good?
Third, although human nature is evil, our world has not been destroyed in the cross-flow of human desires. This is because people are rational (time warning). Human nature can be transformed through acquired education. When people's natural tendency expands infinitely, if social attributes also contribute to it in the same way, then human nature will be more degraded; On the contrary, if our whole society advocates promoting good and avoiding evil, then human nature is likely to develop in the direction of good, which doesn't just show how important it is for Confucianism to advocate self-cultivation, governing the country, being sage inside and being king outside! If the opponent's debater is really human, then why should Kong Old Master Q tirelessly teach others?
Today's debater's mistake is to replace reality with ideals and fact judgment with value judgment. Emotionally, like all good people, we also hope that human nature is good. But history, reality and reason all tell us that human nature is evil! This is a fact. Only by facing up to this fact can we promote the good and avoid the evil. Time is up. Thank you! (Applause)
PRESIDENT: Thank you, Jiang Feng. Next, let's listen to Cai Zhongda, the second representative of the square, for three minutes. (Applause)
Cai Zhongda: Hello, everyone! Just now, other students talked a lot. Let's examine whether good is the foundation or evil is the foundation. Is good a representation or is evil a representation? Let me give you an example first. If you want to eat watermelon today, should you plant watermelon seeds first? If you plant red beans and mung beans, can you plant watermelons! So why are there so many good deeds in the world? Of course, there are also good seeds in human nature. Then why is there an evil appearance in the world? It's simple. We all know that all we have to do is throw watermelon seeds. We need to fertilize and water. If we are not careful, it will rain heavily for more than ten days, and the watermelon will not only grow badly, but also rot. So similarly, in the polluted environment of human beings, we admit that some people have good roots, but they can't grow good fruits. He is not good, but that doesn't mean there are no good seeds in his humanity! So we find that many criminals have a conscience in the end. We say he has a conscience. Think about it. If people's conscience does not exist in human nature from the beginning, how can we explain people's regret? Didn't everyone regret it?
Well, another student pointed out that people are evil because they have desires and such nature. Then I don't understand why desires will definitely bring evil. I like a girl today, and this girl likes me. We both want to marry each other, and we form a beautiful family. Is this evil? Let's talk about it People have instinct. When they are hungry, they want to eat. Isn't that like a lion? How do you explain another classmate? Besides, let's think about it again. Another classmate said that human nature can be educated, so evil human nature can be educated into good. Let's think about it. Why can human nature be educated to be good? We say that birds can fly, as long as they learn to fly. Why can't we all fly by ourselves, no matter how we teach? Because flying is not in our nature, (time warning) then why teach people to do good? Because we believe that human nature is good. If human nature is evil and can be taught to be good, then we feel very strange. If human nature is not good, why do we know what is good as soon as we learn it, how to do it well as soon as we teach it, and how to teach you how to fly? Even if nature is evil, who will teach us, or the evil people will teach us the evil people? Why do they teach us? What are their motives? Can we trust him? They educate us to do good, and Confucius wants to educate us to do good. Are there greater evil motives behind them? (Laughter and applause) We feel strange, don't we? For example, an old man fell and we helped him up; We came to Singapore and made so many friends. We are sincere. When we see the hungry people in Africa, everyone feels lonely, sad and sympathetic to the world. If we say that helping the elderly is a pursuit of fame; Making friends is hypocritical and hypocritical ... (Time is up) Thank you! (Applause)