Humans have always had a tendency to act evilly. It can range from small acts of misbehavior to larger acts of criminal intent. The reason why people can be evil has been argued and refuted endlessly, but there have been very few definitive arguments. One of the many topics of discussion concerns whether the disease is hereditary or environmental. This asks whether behavior is basic instinctive or shaped by each individual's upbringing and external social factors. Thanks to philosophical theories and psychological methods we can address the question of nature vs. education from a number of different angles. The natural state of man has been a major theme of political philosophy for centuries. Thomas Hobbes, a 17th century English philosopher, and John Locke, a 16th century English philosopher, had differing opinions regarding the natural state of man. Locke believed that human behavior was influenced solely by nature. “Suppose then that the mind is, as we say, blank paper without characters, without ideas. Why does it have to be furnished? ... To this I answer, in a word, by EXPERIENCE” (Herrnstein 311). When Locke refers to the human mind as "blank paper devoid of all characters," he is referring to a newly born person with no exposure to the environment. He then goes on to say that he must be “equipped” with “experience”. What Locke ultimately means is that human beings are born with a blank slate mind; we learn and develop through ideas and experiences. Rousseau, on the other hand, believes that human development is due to individual genetic factors. This means that human traits and behavior are more or less developed at the time of birth. While traits may be determined at birth, the environment may still…middle of paper…believe that it is a combination of both nature and nurture, as illustrated by psychologist Jerome Kagan's quote: "Genes and the Family may determine the foundation of the house, but time and place determine its form” (Wozniak 37). both sides. Locke believed that we provide experience to our mind; Hobbes thought that human characteristics and behavior are determined at birth, and finally Bouchard concluded that it is a mixture of the two nature nor nurture causes evil tendencies, for it is a combination of the two that truly shapes humanity. There are no rules who we will become due to our nature and nurture can only be decided on a case by case basis.