An eight year old is also more likely to succumb to emotion on more conventional issues, hence why whoever posted the Lord of the Flies image was correct. I rarely see advlts throw a tantrum over not getting certain things. It would be hilarious. Ever have kiddy or early teenage parties that had little advlt supervision as a child? Hanging out with mediun and large groups of other children? Things quickly get out of hand on issues rather small in nature most of the time which is far more a rarity in advlts. So children are in fact more cruel in that sense, but that's due to their immaturity which should be expected of children. Merely suggesting that someone who is eight years old should know right and wrong is missing the point of the OP entirely.

You ain't seen the strangest show ever until you've watched FLCL A.K.A. Fooley Cooley

Given that the level of cruelty depends solely on the person viewing it, there is no objective answer to the statement. Unless we really are governed in a hard deterministic way, in which case there exists a reason as to why the answers differs. Like say, a script setting a base value for the cruelty level but then using a modifier for the individual's perception of it to offset it from the base. As to why a script would do that, well, there must exist a reason for it.

In my opinion though, I disagree. I mean, they're not exactly mini-versions of that one guy selling postcard-inspired paintings.

I say that they're not, because I don't think that children really, fully understand the brevity (? Can't think of a better word) of their actions, whereas I think the majority of advlts do. Children can be cruel, but I think for the most part it's casual or unthinking, and they don't necessarily understand the long term effects of their actions, or they are more likely to let their emotions rule, instead of thinking things through rationally. I think kids do cruel things, but to me, advlts who are fully aware of what they are doing, and of the ultimate ramifications of that act, and do it anyway are far more cruel.

Children are evil... But they are an innocent evil. They don't know better, so that's why it is up to the advlts and parents to teach them. But then there are some children that have crap parents and turn out to be ok, and vise versa.

Humans are just weird. We contradict ourselves in every way imaginable...

No, I disagree.
The cruelest being is an advlt who is vicious and knows better, and part of being an advlt is taking responsibility for one's actions.
Some children are taught proper parameters of behavior, by loving parents and still become cruel, violent advlts. Some children are brutalized, shown little concern, but rise above their upbringing to become compassionate, productive citizens. In the end, it comes down to PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY.
There are self absorbed children and self absorbed advlts. Age is not a defining factor in maturity. Experience generally is.

I think that might be a problem at hand with the saying because at what point do you say "That Is A Child." Some will say that the age of 5 is a limit and when they reach 6 and older they are considered a "Kid". On the other hand some might say until they reach 11 and 12 years old they are considered children. Personally my own definition of a child would be a creature/being/human that is below the age of 7 and does not have the concept grasp of right and wrong. There are some who are very smart at 6 and 7 years old thus they could not be called children instead being called "Big Boys/Girls" however that maybe another point of judgment that varies from person to person.

Personally I do find children to be quite cruel because as noted they don't have a true grasp of consequences in regard to their actions. As a result they perceive things as "Fun For Me" or "Painful To Me" and either want to do it nor not to do it. Example would be a fun game where they tease a dog and the dog whimpers trying to get away. However when the dog turns and growls at the child they no longer consider the game fun because they themselves have been "hurt" or rather scared thus they abandoned the game. Luckily there are kind examples of games where they may play with the dog with both the human child and the dog benefiting each other.

That second example plausibly defeats the statement, but again it takes one action to start toward a path. I do think Defron hit upon an excellent experiment concerning a child though.

Experiment setup:

The BIG RED BUTTON

1. In the room is a button on the table and a child "by reasonable definition" is placed in a chair with the button at arms length reach.
2. The child is told that this button decides the fate of the world and that when pressed everyone in the world will disappear forever. This includes their relatives such as their mother and/or father, sister/brother, etc... including their beloved pet.
3. They are then told that if they press the button they will receive a special prize "candy, gum, ice cream, etc..."

Another experiment could be devised to see how cruel a child is by diving another experiment. The button would be linked to a robotic facsimile of a dog/cat and when pressed it would do a dance but would be hurt in the process. There would be no true objective to the game but to let the child press the button as many times as they want. However there would be a sort of "Dark" intent to the game where after a certain number of presses the child receive a negative influence which causes them some discomfort such as a minor jolt like a joy buzzer. They would then be asked if they wanted to continue the game and the responses could then be gauged.

The 2nd experiment might be a better example proving either the statement to be true or only semi-true.

Voted no... The way I see it, cruelty is well, crueller, when performed with fore-thought and knowledge of what cruelty means... Children can be cruel, but usually it's unitentional.

Simple, the experiment will have to test every age which consists of speaking individuals under the age of, say, 13. This will let us determine if there is a moral cut-off point where children on average tend to make the morally right decision in the test.

Then once the game is over, and you turn your back they want to play the game and when you dont allow it because they are gonna hurt themselves they get mad at you.

Everyone is born evil but some perfect their evilness as they age. Therefore some of us are more evil and crueler than a child.

Oh you were watching the flying killer fatman as well. The Mad Pierrot!

Yes children are cruel because they don't know any better. Its true, a child needs to be guided or else it will become feral.

Its not evil it just does by impulse, imagine you see a child see a shiney toy, if he never learned stealing was wrong he would just run up and snatch that toy thinknig nothing of the other child, possibly a fight might ensue. -If there were no one to watch them of course.

When they mean child they probably mean something along the line of something thta has not developed full reasom or morality.


http://www.age-of-the-sage.org/philosophy/john_locke_tabula_rasa.html - Blank Slate, is a theory by Locke that children are born blank like a learning sponge, soaking in all the information at such a small age. Why its easier for children to learn multiple languages and many other small takes like tying shoes and proper eating manners through their culture learn many other manner based things. We are born not good or evil, just with no wisdom or knowledge of things.(Which leads to loads of room for curiosity)

Shame on anyone who has not seen Cowboy Bebop.

Kids can be cruel in their actions but not usually in their intent. For example, they could poke a sick kitten in its eye just for fun, or because they're curious, but probably wouldn't do it because they hate the kitten and want it to suffer, as an advlt might. Right and wrong are non existent in a child, so their choices are much more natural. Unfortunately, nature is quite cruel sometimes.

One of the better anime shows to exist. Trust me on this one, check it out. It made a fan of me, a non-anime watcher.
And To Xycolian, FLCL also made it onto that short list of mine, not sure how it managed that one though. The show just intrigues me in its lunacy.

That episode was on just the other day.

This question isn't a very new one, but it has had much debate. The novel Lord of the Flies asserts that children will regress to barbarism if left uncontrolled and without guidance. Certainly children on the playground will attempt to dominate their peers frequently, though the true behavior of children is always inhibited because they know that there is always a watchful authority present that will discipline them if they ever misbehave.

On the other hand, I believe it was Plato who put forth the idea that a perfect society can be created if you eliminate all advlts, because children are the ultimate form of innocence. Children, while they may be habitually destructive, are also blissfully innocent simply because they don't understand the difference between right and wrong.

It's also worth noting that there is another episode of Cowboy Bebop where the main enemy is a child who is actually hundreds of years old, trapped in eternal youth. Our society seems to have some sort of fascination with un-innocent children, and it seems to happen in Japan more than anywhere else. Like my avatar as well.

I don't think I would necessarily say that there is nothing more cruel than a child. But they are most certainly not innocent. Children will quite happily attack others, verbally or physically, for any number of idiotic reasons. Because they look different, because one has something the other wants, because they have issues dealing with their anger, and/or simply because they can. If you think about it, there's nothing fundamentally different about it when advlts do the same things, fighting other individuals, gangs, tribes, or nations out of bigotry, want for resources, or as a show of power. Any combination of strong emotions such as hate, greed, and fear inspire cruelty, and children are every bit as capable of feeling them as advlts. Truth be told, the only reasons why kids seldom get as out of hand as advlts is because one, the advlts have more resources at their disposal and thus a greater capacity for cruelty, and two, because children are often watched over and restrained by advlts.

That's humanity for you.