Inward Man

  In the past Socratic Seminars while we discussed Picture Dorian Gray the class seemed to mostly think that man is genuinely good and that the good inside of him will be revealed depending on how this individual is raised and how he or she is affected by society. I would like to expand on these ideas and discuss them further, perhaps disputing one of them.
  To start this topic off, the terms "good" and "evil" must be defined. Good is an action or deed that is right and benefits mankind. It is not the absence of evil. Good is a positive influence, not a neutral one. Evil is the opposite. It is a harmful or detrimental effect on society that does not further mankind. This harmful effect must be intentional however, as some people perform  actions that harm others, but these effects are not what was intended. Evil and good must both be intentional in order to fit their categories. Accidental deeds of good and evil do not count as making a good person or an evil person.
  This being said, people are born evil. They naturally do what they are not supposed to when they are born. They are selfish and think only of themselves. I have yet to see a child that gives away its toys in generosity and does not cry for attention. Parents (influences) must teach their children that life does not revolve around them. This must be taught to the child, as he or she does not naturally do good. Eventually this child learns to be a good person through school friends, and teachers. Sadly, not everyone is as fortunate as others. Many people are not born into well rounded and encouraging homes with good, loving parents. These people have a more difficult time in life and do not learn that they should do good rather than evil. But, as they grow up they still have the opportunity to see good people in the world (charities, churches, famous people) and learn the differences between good and evil through what they see and their conscious. Just because someone is not born into a supportive home does not mean that they have the excuse to be evil.
  Dorian Gray was evil from the start in my opinion. He did not start off good and then become evil after he saw the painting. He could be seen as a  child that has not learned what good is yet. In fact, shut himself off from good. The painting reveals his inner evil and the evil in him was brought out. Beauty is one of the good things in the world, but Dorian Gray does not see the good beauty in the painting. Rather, he takes it the wrong way and encourages his evil side and ruins his life. After going down the wrong road, Dorian Gray refuses to repent, despite the advice from Basil (this would have been an act of good).
  The world seems to have mixed feeling about this issue. Perhaps this is why children are let off easier than adults when they commit crimes. They have not yet made the descion of whether to follow good or keep to their original evil side. They still have a chance to find the good in the world. An adult (supposedly) has already missed their chance to turn good and thus must be more severely punished. Perhaps the adult has done an action purposely for evil while the child is ignorant of what the action really meant.