"Why are humans so evil?"

A few nights ago, I was sitting around and staring into space as usual. (This is a common pass time of mine, especially during the Summer break from University - it comes second only to stuffing my face with food).
I was thinking about how lazy I am, and how lazy the human race can be in general.
Since I have gotten into Japanese and Korean culture and media productions, the laziness of the Western races compared to the Asian races has really made itself obvious.
I'm making it clear now, I DO NOT think every Westerner is lazy, nor do I think that every Asian is hard-working and productive. However, one cannot deny a clear cultural difference here.

I typed the question "Why are humans so lazy?" into Google. I was hoping to filter through the rubbish to see if I could unearth any scientific theories on the subject.
A related question had popped up underneath the search-bar as I typed: "Why are humans so evil?"



My interest was grabbed, so I began to explore this question instead. (Perhaps I should also find out why my attention-span is so short).

The notion of "evilness" and "goodness" is something that interests me quite a bit. There are obviously huge religious connotations related to this concept which makes it, for me, all the more intriguing.

I am an agnostic, so I am not a religious but am - I would like to think - an open-minded individual.
Even so, I find it hard to truly subscribe to the idea of the entire Human race being born from Adam and Eve and any of the religious chronicles from every religion.

It is said by all religious scriptures (to my limited knowledge) that one should be a good person if they wish to be rewarded in the afterlife, and that they shall be punished if they are a bad person.
It is also said by a lot of religious scriptures that the Devil walks among us and it constantly wanting us to be tempted to do evil things.

Personally, I think that "Good" and "Evil" are nothing more than social constructs that have arisen from the Human race's need to survive and live together.
The things that are considered to be "Evil" in this world are the things that cause others pain and upset and would cause the perpetrator to be outcast from the group.

For example, if I murdered a stranger on the street, there would be a lot of bad consequences for me as an individual. I do not mean the consequences brought about by the social construct of law, but rather the social ones.
Whoever witnessed the crime would be frightened of me and probably run away, I will have jeopardised all the existing AND potential social relationships in my life by murdering this stranger.
I have also ended the life of this person, a person who most probably has family members that will be devastated at the loss caused by my actions.

So, this murder has caused a massive social explosion that would result in terrible social consequences for myself.
Therefore, in order to remain a wanted member of society, I should be a "Good" person.

I have taken a hugely scientific perspective on this subject and I dislike boiling Humans down to a scientific explanation. However, this theory, despite it's over-simplicity, is what makes the most sense to me.

I enjoy the concepts of "Good and Evil", in all their religious glory and it think that it is only Human to try and make things completely black and white, but I think these things are far too complex to be made that simple!

I think that Human beings are capable of being both Good and Evil (very Jekyll and Hyde, I know). Whilst I have stated that Humans a simply "Good" because it benefits them, I think our emotions make things a lot more complicated. Whilst I do subscribe to the more scientific theory I mentioned earlier, I do also think that Humans are able to act based solely to benefit others over themselves because they want to.

I dislike the use of Good and Evil because I feel that it labels Humans as only needing to be good for the benefits they will receive in the afterlife.
It also paints Humans as the picture of weakness...that we are easily tempted and unable to restrain ourselves.

There is an awful lot of Evil in this world. I often find myself disgusted with the Human race and our selfishness. However, I then think of how equally amazing we can be as a species and what we can do for one another.

Many people I have spoken to seem to think that the world is becoming more Evil and that we are in some sort of downward spiral to Hell. I try to remind people that Mankind has ALWAYS been Evil.
Ever since our race existed, there has been murder, rape, burglary...
The fact that there is now 24 hour media coverage, with news stations often favouring stories full of gore and violence has distorted our perceptions of reality, leading us to feel that there are only horrible things in this world.

Yes, Humans can be  horrible, but I believe we shouldn't need a God to threaten us with eternal damnation for us to be good...all we need is our conscience and the ability to push ourselves to live more for one another than for ourselves.