A to Z Quick Chat 93 | Do you think people are born good or bad?

In this episode of The A to Z English Podcast, Xochitl and Jack discuss the question: Do you think people are born good or bad? Transcript: 00:00:01JackWelcome to the A-Z English podcast, where Jack and Social take you on a journey from learning the basics to mastering the nuances of the English language. Our podcast is designed for non-native speakers who are looking to improve their English skills in a fun and interactive way. Each episode covers a wide range of topics.00:00:23JackFrom grammar and vocabulary to slang and culture to help you navigate the English speaking world with ease.00:00:35JackWelcome to the A to Z English podcast. My name is Jack and I am here with my co-host social. And today we have a quick chat episode and today's quick chat question is, do you believe that people are born?00:00:48JackGood or born bad?00:00:52JackOr do you think that?00:00:54JackIt's different from person to person.00:00:57JackSo. So. So what do you think about that? Do you think people are born good or born bad, like Hitler was born bad? Or Mother Teresa was born good?00:01:10XochitlJack, I have a.00:01:11XochitlHard time with this one because I'm a I'm a true crime enthusiast and.00:01:16발표자Me too.00:01:18XochitlIt's hard because there's people that.00:01:21XochitlIn rare cases, there are situations where like there's no report of a traumatic childhood and stuff for certain psychopaths and serial killers.00:01:31XochitlAnd even then, there's usually.00:01:32XochitlA reason like a traumatic brain injury or something from an accident.00:01:37XochitlBut I think most people are not born evil enough to be serial killers. And hmm and and people are complex. I think good is is very reductive for those listeners who don't know, that means it simplifies it too much. But I think it really depends on the person.00:01:58XochitlAnd their experiences and how they choose.00:02:02XochitlUltimately, how they choose to process those experiences or what they choose to do.00:02:09XochitlWith those experiences, cause I know that you can have someone who had really bad experiences and they might use those as an excuse and a justification to be abusive later, or to be.00:02:23XochitlTo outlet their trauma in destructive ways. Or you could have someone who had the exact same experiences and chooses to grow from them and not subject anyone else to the kind of abuse or horrible situations they suffer.00:02:37발표자 4Right, yeah.00:02:40XochitlBut I don't think anyone.00:02:41XochitlIs all good or all bad? We've all done bad things.00:02:46JackYes, yes, you're right, I.00:02:49JackThink I think we all have the capacity, the ability to to do good or to do bad.00:02:56JackBut the question, yeah, this is a tough one because I'm just thinking of like again, I'm thinking of, like, serial killers and like the ones that that had, like, good parents. Like they weren't. They didn't have, like, a terrible.00:03:13JackYou know, childhood or, you know, they had parents that were not terrible and and home lives that were not full of trauma. They weren't traumatic. And then they still wanted to act out in this way.00:03:32JackI feel like it's.00:03:33JackIt's possible, but maybe it's a it's a lot smaller percentage of people than we think that our maybe just born bad.00:03:43JackThey're just like they're they're missing something, but I think it I think for for the people to.00:03:50JackI think for for example, for a a a person to commit murder, there has to be a lot of different. There has to be like a lot.00:04:00JackOf factors taken in, it's like it's not just that they were born bad, but it's also that there was, you know, a bad environment when they were growing up and then.00:04:11JackAlso, there was an opportunity for them to commit a crime, and so it's like it's kind of like a perfect storm.00:04:22JackWhen people commit really horrible crimes like like serial killers, I feel like something is has come together. It's not just that they were born bad, but it's just that like they're they, they have a lot of like a large capacity to do bad or maybe they even.00:04:41JackHave a a.00:04:44JackCompulsion like they want to do something bad and then an opportunity comes up and then also there's a bad they have bad parents. So like it's like a it's a combination of like all these bad things that makes them act out and so.00:05:01JackLike you said, it's people are complicated and it's it's hard to just say like ohh this person is born bad or this person.00:05:08JackWas born good.00:05:10JackBut I do think that there is some.00:05:14JackIn certain people, that allows them to to to behave really badly and and and and it's it's it's something that's just like hardwired in their brain like it's it's not.00:05:29JackI don't know. It's just it's just part of their who they are. Like it's part of their genetic makeup.00:05:35XochitlI think I remember. I don't know who the quote was from, but I was told that by some guy that he's a German guy and.00:05:44XochitlFor those who are familiar with German culture, it seems really stereotypical that a German person said. But.00:05:51XochitlHe said people aren't good or bad. They're better and they're worse.00:05:58XochitlAnd that doesn't.00:06:01XochitlI think, Jack, when I when.00:06:02XochitlI told Jack this a little bit before we.00:06:03XochitlStarted the podcast.00:06:05XochitlIt wasn't like a he interpreted it as like a thing of degrees. Right, Jack? You interpret it as, like, some people are better than others, and some people are worse than others.00:06:14XochitlBut I personally interpret it like.00:06:21XochitlPeople in different times in their lives and in different situations can be better, and they can also be worse later and better again and worse later. It's kind of like who we are as people goes through waves.00:06:36XochitlAnd of course, there are people on extremes like serial killers and.00:06:40XochitlOn good extremes, like Mother Teresa. And then there's us who, you know, we're probably not going to be as great as Mother Teresa, but we're not. We're no Jeffrey Dahmer.00:06:54XochitlYeah. And so most people are somewhere on the spectrum.00:06:58XochitlBeing a little better.00:07:02XochitlAnd a little worse all the time, but not crossing certain moral limits that I think we set for ourselves that are important to ourselves.00:07:11JackYeah. Yeah, I think that's this is, I don't think we're going to be able to. I mean this is this question is probably will never be answered because this is the great philosophical question. Questions is are we born with a blank slate? You know the.00:07:19XochitlRight.00:07:27JackWhat is it called? Tabula rasa. Whatever you know, the, the, the kind of we're we're we're just pure when we're born and then all anything that any bad bad part of us is is imprinted from our you know parents and from our upbringing and our experiences or are we already kind of.00:07:36발표자 4OK.00:07:48JackIs there already some uh personality that exists there and then our experiences and our environment kind of builds on those things? I mean, that's what I think. I think we're kind of we're kind of born with a certain with certain strengths and.00:08:05JackThis is and then we can build on those in our environment and our our upbringing kind of informs that. And so it it, it can either enhance the good qualities or it can also a bad experience or traumatic childhood can enhance the the weaknesses and the bad parts of our personalities and so.00:08:26JackI I just think it's like a mix of of everything. You know, it's environment, it's nature and it's nurture.00:08:31JackAnd uh. But like you said, it's a you like where it's it really comes down to decisions that you make in certain moments. You know you you make the better decision or the worst decision and and it's and those build on each other so that if you make enough bad decisions in a row you can end up doing some really horrendous.00:08:51JackThings and I I think.00:08:54JackThat's the the key is that.00:08:55JackThere's all. We're always one decision away. One good decision away from kind of.00:09:00JackBeing being good, I think.00:09:02XochitlRight, right. And one.00:09:03JackYeah, yeah.00:09:05XochitlBad decision. It's like crazy because.00:09:09XochitlYou can make like 100 good decisions in your life and one really bad thing that you choose to do.00:09:16XochitlCan really hurt other people and it takes forever to make it back up to them or to make it back up to yourself, to where you feel like you've redeemed yourself and your situation.00:09:28XochitlSo I think.00:09:29XochitlIt is really important to take into consideration before we do hurtful things.00:09:35JackYeah, I mean one.00:09:36JackOf the right now, there's a there's a famous actor named Russell Brand who's in a.00:09:42JackLot of trouble.00:09:43JackA A potentially for alleged crimes against certain women and.00:09:55JackAgain, it's it's alleged, but it's like he, you know, these are decisions that he.00:10:03JackUh made ten years ago that our stood out. He's might have to pay the consequences for right now. And sometimes you make bad decisions and then you you become better.00:10:10XochitlRight.00:10:16JackAnd a better.00:10:17JackPerson, but you still have to pay the.00:10:20JackFor the consequences.00:10:22JackOf of your of your bad decisions.00:10:24JackIn the past, so I mean it's so.00:10:26JackThat it gets.00:10:27JackVery, very complicated, you know? Is this a bad person or is this a person that was was bad? But now is good and?00:10:36JackYeah, yeah.00:10:36XochitlI think if you were.00:10:38XochitlBad. And now you're good then part of.00:10:42XochitlActually being good now and actually being a better person, especially in like me too cases and cases where you have like victims who are affected is actually taking full accountability and responsibility though, and paying up for all the things that you did. And I think if you really become a better person, then you need to be open to facing the consequences.00:11:03XochitlYou know for your behavior.00:11:05JackYeah, that's a good. That's a really good point. That's a really good point. UM, yeah, even. Uh, yeah, I think you're right. If you if you're a person of integrity and you really are a better person, then you will. You will tell the truth and say I did this and that ten years ago and you'll. Yeah.00:11:25JackAnd and then you can actually I.00:11:27JackThink redeem yourself, but if you're still lying about something.00:11:32JackThat happened in the past and not then. Then you really haven't changed that much. Yeah, that's a great point.00:11:42XochitlAll right. Well, let us know what.00:11:43XochitlYou think in e-mail?00:11:44XochitlAt A to.00:11:[email protected], we've a comment down below at our website at ozenglishpodcast.com.00:11:53XochitlAnd join our WhatsApp group and we will see you.00:11:55XochitlGuys, next time.00:11:57발표자 4Alright. Bye bye bye.Podcast Website:https://atozenglishpodcast.com/a-to-z-quick-chat-93-do-you-think-people-are-born-good-or-bad/Social Media:Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/671098974684413/Tik Tok:@atozenglish1Instagram:@atozenglish22Twitter:@atozenglish22A to Z Facebook Page:https://www.facebook.com/theatozenglishpodcastCheck out our You Tube Channel:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCds7JR-5dbarBfas4Ve4h8ADonate to the show: https://app.redcircle.com/shows/9472af5c-8580-45e1-b0dd-ff211db08a90/donationsRobin and Jack started a new You Tube channel called English Word Master. 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