can a person be both good and bad?

[cacian]

at the same time or it is a one dimentional situation?
Is life really that black and white?

[Maximilianus]

Most of us choose the treatment to dish out according to preference. Because of personal preference, most people are as good at being good to some people as they are good at being bad to some other people.

As an example based on personal experience, I have noticed that whenever you make a mistake the one person who had always been so good to you stops being that good and develops a blurred sort of goodness. As a result, they may often keep being good to you, but whenever they see fit they pick up your one mistake to stuff it in your mouth and choke you with it until they see fit. All this can happen at the same time, at intermittent intervals, or at different times during the day or throughout the week.

Bear in mind that every mind builds and holds a whole universe of perceptions on the same (or on very similar) situations. Nothing works exactly the same for everyone. Nothing at all.

[Scheherazade]

Even in the UK it doesn't rain all the time.

[Desolation]

I think that most people come in subtle shades of gray. Generally good people, especially, tend to make mistakes and have moments where they slip up and act out. It's part of the nature of being human.

I do think that there are a few people who are mostly just bad, though.

[YesNo]

Goodness and badness seem to be mainly in the eye of the beholder looking at someone else and depends a lot on the mood of the person doing the looking. If one can get someone else to agree with the good-bad assessment it somewhat validates it or validates that the moods of the observers are the same.

Having said that, I wonder if I have just stepped into a mess. Am I saying that there isn't any objective morality, or way to objectively determine that someone else is "good" or "bad"? I don't know.

[Mutatis-Mutandis]

I figured I'd vote for the most ludicrous answer of the list just for the hell of it, only to see someone already did before me.

[cacian]

I think that most people come in subtle shades of gray. Generally good people, especially, tend to make mistakes and have moments where they slip up and act out. It's part of the nature of being human.

I do think that there are a few people who are mostly just bad, though.

I agree, being able to naturally yourself and genuinely nice cannot also include being the opposite it would be too odd I think.

[ClaesGefvenberg]

Yes, it is all in the eyes of the beholder:

I suppose we all have some kind of average level between the opposites of the spectrum, but if we have a bad (or good) day, we can deviate quite substantially from that level. In short, anyone can be a cast iron b....d now and then. It's really just a matter of trying to have a decent quota.

Similarly, we can see others in very differing lights as our own days differ between particularly bad or good ones.

/Claes

[PoeticPassions]

I figured I'd vote for the most ludicrous answer of the list just for the hell of it, only to see someone already did before me.

The 'it is impossible' answer?

It wasn't me, but I figure that seems like the most ludicrous of answers...

[Mutatis-Mutandis]

The 'it is impossible' answer?

It wasn't me, but I figure that seems like the most ludicrous of answers...

Yeah. I don't see how anyone could think it's impossible to be both good and bad. I think it's impossible not to be.

[Rainyhawaii]

Well, it's either your justice or someone else's justice. You do what's right by you and what you believe is right. No matter what there is always someone who's going to disagree with you. You are good to yourself and those who agree with you, but you are also bad to those who don't agree with you. Cheers for repeating what has already been said!

[Joreads]

We all have the ability to be both. There have been times I have been really disappointed in myself after the fact. No one is perfect.

[Scheherazade]

at the same time or it is a one dimentional situation?
Is life really that black and white?

Probably depends on how intelligent they are.

[Pensive]

Can a person be otherwise?

[SFG75]

In reading everyone's responses, I can't help but think of Hardy's The Mayor of Casterbridge. In my professional life, I work with individuals who have done terrible things in their past, but who are "good" people, or at least, have some "goddness" within them. I have also worked with some who have no conscience whatsoever. I would argue that it is possible to be both, though certain cases test my answer to this. Can a child abuser go on to "repent" and live a good life thereafter? Can a convicted murderer do likewise? Can a mother who birthed a drug addicted baby do so as well? The case is easy to me in regards to fraud or some other form of white collar crime. It's wrongs against others, egregious wrongs, that test my faith in the goodness of my fellow man. Even in the worst cases, I can see how "bad" things have come to occur, the "nurture" aspect of influence of human behavior is rather strong in my opinion. In any of the cases I mentioned previously, a person who grew up in an abusive home and who lived through a living hell provides at least for me, time to pause before jumping to an early and rash judgment.

Excellent topic.