The Table of Contents for this volume can be accessed here . Many have thought, as did John Locke, that humans are wholly good, and only choose to do bad when their animal instinct for survival is threatened. Conversely, Thomas Hobbes felt that humans are thoroughly evil and that their natural state is one of war. Both then create governmental structures to suit their own views of humanity. However, although Locke and Hobbes were great political minds, their views of human nature are entirely too simplistic and treat human beings as mere animals who act only for self-preservation and without enlightenment or consciousness.
Human nature is basically good, yet incredibly flawed.
Men and women are not harmless animals ignorantly acting on uncontrollable instincts, but have intellect and consciousness, from which they derive capacities for both good and evil. They are innately moral creatures capable of ethical decisions, yet do not always make the right choices. Humanity seeks a purpose and meaning to life, and finds it in the ability to help others, transforming a will to live into a will to give. Yet this goodness is tempered by egotism and a desire for power in an attempt to compensate for one's apparent insignificance in the universal order, implying that evil decisions are instinctive but deliberate. Because humans are naturally equal in rights and responsibilities, an increase in the power of one individual necessarily encroaches upon the power of another.