Do we inherit good or evil?

Answer 1

There is no short answer, yes or no to this.

It all depends on the circumstances, the upbringing and the childhood you had.

There is no such thing as a person, who is all evil or even all good.

99.95% of us are good people, but with a touch of evil. We all have the capacity for both, but most, almost all of us, choose to be good, but those who chose to be evil do it for a reason, whether it be horrible childhood, bullies, or other unfortunate circumstances.

Hypothetical: if your parents were intelligent, sensible people, who loved and nurtured you, and knew the right limit for being strict and fair, then you'll end up a good person, but in the opposite, if someone bashes or yells at you for no reason, you'll get mad and angry, and sooner or later, you'll want revenge against them and may end up killing the people who turned you evil. In a sense, evil is created, not born.

Answer 2

The evolutionary mechanism of natural selection makes an implicit distinction between "good" or "fit" situations (those which survive in the long term), and "bad" or "unfit" ones (those which are eliminated sooner or later). Therefore, we might equate good or higher values with anything that contributes to survival and the continuation of the process of evolution, and evil with anything that destroys, kills or thwarts the development of fit systems.