Good and bad are human constructs built from social interaction and acceptance. Since humans are social animals we are born leaning towards "good" as we vie for acceptance. However survival instincts and the desire to pass our genes on breeds a competitive component that at times wins over creating selfish tendencies, a.k.a. not socially acceptable. So disregarding your outliers most humans are born good, but are capable of bad things. However, the terms are limited and lacking depth of scope. For instance killing weaker humans with mutations that do not strengthen the gene pool is a positive act for the species, while being a negative act for the individual.

I think we have the capacity for both. It all depends on which one we choose.

I think we're 'born' innocent. But based on society, family structure, abuse, ideology, and a whole plethora of social cues, affect how we turn out as we grow up. I also know there's a genetic component, but they also start to turn on and off as we grow. Even mental issues don't start to manifest right away, though we start to see evidence of some of them very early. Others don't take hold until much later.

I think the idea of a "good" and "bad" or "black" and "white" is something we should probably start to rethink. Someone who is riddled with mental illness can't necessarily rise above villain to become saint, and saints also have some pretty significant flaws. So we're "people..." for better or worse.

I found the evangelical world I came out of to have a grossly exaggerated pessimism about human nature, courtesy of the doctrines of total depravity and original sin, plus a tendency towards asceticism (locating sin as a thing-in-itself in the physical world, particularly ones body). These pernicious doctrines are the source of great human suffering and self-loathing as well as fulcrums of control for all sorts of opportunists.

So my tendency since then has been to default more to the thought that most people, given half a chance, mean well and try their best to do well. That doesn't mean they don't make really poor choices sometimes, and it doesn't mean they don't suffer for those choices. That doesn't mean some people aren't lacking in empathy and integrity. But it is to say that there's not some inherent stain of sin ("out! out, damned spot!" ) that renders humans total asshats by default. Most people have to really work at being boogers.

I think I may have over-corrected a bit though, because I really thought humanity as a whole had reached some sort of irreversible tipping-point of egalitarian sentiment, until The Donald disabused me of that notion. I haven't regressed to my fundagelical thoughts by any means, but now see good will as a precious commodity that provides a fairly thin veneer over the "darker angels of our nature". The problem isn't human nature so much as that individuals become really stupid when running in packs, and bad behavior feeds on itself. So I see the problem as less located in individuals and more in tribes.

Basically good… tentatively..

Personality traits are not "either/or." This is a fallacy, a false dilemma.

Introverted behavior ranges from extreme withdrawal and social awkwardness to outgoing, yet needing alone time to recharge.

What is a False Dilemma?

"When only two choices are presented yet more exist, or a spectrum of possible choices exists between two extremes. False dilemmas are usually characterized by “either this or that” language, but can also be characterized by omissions of choices."

I think different people have different natures. I think people who are "good" by nature are more empathetic, and those3 who are more "bad" by nature are not as empathetic adn may be just outright selfish.

When I studied criminology as a part of my Sociology degree, I learned that people generally behave nto because they are afraid of punishment, but because they are afraid of what their loved ones and people they care about will treat them if hey get caught. In short that means the values of your social groups and peers weight mor eheavily than the values inherent in the law or your society.

If you want to be a better person, surround yourself with "good" and/or better people.

Neither, what is good in one circumstance is evil in another and vice versa, civilization is simply the ability make choices that benefit and facilitate the overall survival of the species.

Instinct drives animal behavior. To survive, to consume, to reproduce, and all of these are based on the self. Want to translate that to good or evil? Look to the Dungeon Masters’ rule book. Everything I ever needed to know, I learned from AD&D. Good is associated with the well being of others, evil is associated with the wellbeing of the individual.

Born bad and selfish, need to be taught by parents

My guess is we're bad people who try to be good but it might be a hangover from my Bible days.