The concepts of good and evil, as they apply to humans, have a broad range of definitions and there is no one single way to define either one. Yet these concepts are ones that humans struggle with each and every day. As the Zygon: Journal of Religion and Science discussed, “Human beings have always had to wrestle with evil. It so often tears asunder our hearts and minds as we struggle to comprehend how and why one human being can destroy another. Evil rips apart our hope of finding, or making meaning in life.” 1
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Doing good can be generally thought of as acting in a way that brings positive results, demonstrating good morals, or showing kindness.
Doing evil is generally thought of as committing actions that bring harm to another creature, behaving immorally, or doing something that is undesirable.
There is also a broad range of ways to understand the cause, or source, of human good and evil. Many look to science to understand the possible causes of why a person might do good or evil and cite the biological workings of the human brain as being responsible for these actions. Many also look to theology for ways to understand human actions of evil and good and cite religious reasons for their source. 

But one doesn’t have to look too far to see that both good and evil are present in the human species. This observation of humanity is portrayed in the story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde written by Robert Louis Stevenson in 1886. Click on the links to read a summary and watch a video that shows highlights from the story.

If you watch and listen closely, the text in the video asks about a biological reason for good and evil and the song suggests a religious reason as it states that it all started with Adam and Eve in the Bible.
So how can we understand both the scientific and theological claims for either the biological or theological source of good and evil in humans? Click on the next tab “THE TWO SIDES,” or the button below, to learn more about these claims.
Below are two options for using the LEADER GUIDE; the first option contains information for this page only and the second option contains the entire LEADER GUIDE.
1 Karl E. Peters and Barbara Whittaker-Johns, “Scientific and Religious Perspectives on Human Behavior: An Introduction,” in Zygon: Journal of Religion and Science 47, no. 4 (December 2012): 799.