Are people inherently good or evil?
This topic has been debated for many years. There are actually three possible positions one can take: are humans born evil, born good, or born with no affiliation towards good or evil at all? John Locke first termed the phrase “tabula rasa”, which literally means “clean slate”. This theory suggests that babies come into the world neither good nor bad, they are simply “blank”, ready to accept any outside influence. If their nurturing is loving, supportive, etc., then the child will likely become such a person as he/she grows older; on the other hand, if the child is abused, neglected, malnourished, etc., he/she is more likely to become evil as he/she ages. The child, then, is basically a “sponge”. There is evidence to support both sides of the argument. Sigmund Freud is known for his psychoanalytic theory, which includes the assumption that babies are born all “id”, or pleasure-seeking; in other words, they only seek to satisfy themselves. Also, any parent would know that parents do not
