Human nature has been an essential debate amongst philosophers and psychologists, and it seems as if every one of them has a different opinion on it. Human nature can be described as the fundamental characteristics a human has, something natural and innate within us. Hobbes argues that humans are inherently selfish, and fight amongst each other solely for power, material goods, and glory. Rousseau argues the exact opposite, and believes that humans are inherently good, unselfish, and non-violent. Hobbes believes man is wolf, and Rousseau believes that man is sheep. AQOTWF addresses human nature— in chapter 3, Katz says “In himself man is essentially a beast, only he butters it over like a slice of bread with a little decorum.” He says this in response to Himmelstoss, who thrives on ego and power, and compares him to a beast. Does evil exist because of our environment, or are we born with it? 

I believe both are correct. 

We are born with emotion—emotion cannot be something that we are conditioned to have. Just like anger, or happiness, kindness and evil are both things that preexist within us; but, how much evil or kindness that can be pulled out of us depends on our environment. A person’s childhood can determine how they are for the rest of their life. If man is raised with love and warmth, he shall reciprocate that energy into the world. If man is raised with hatred and violence, he shall reciprocate. Of course the things we experience later on have the capability to change who we were previously, but this is what typically happens. We are born with both kindness and evil, but how much we have and how much we project onto the world is dependent on our environment.