Humans have always had a tendency to act in bad ways. This can range from small acts of misconduct to larger criminal acts. Why people can be evil has been endlessly debated and refuted, but there have been very few definitive arguments. One of the many topics of discussion is whether the ailment is hereditary or environmental. The question is whether behavior is a basic instinct or whether it is shaped by each individual's upbringing and external social factors. Through philosophical theories and psychological methods, we can approach the question of nature versus nurture from different angles. The natural state of man has been one of the major themes of political philosophy for centuries. Thomas Hobbes, a 17th century English philosopher, and John Locke, a 16th century English philosopher, had divergent views on the natural state of man. Locke believed that human behavior was solely influenced by nature. “Suppose then that the mind is, as they say, a white paper empty of all characters, without ideas. How come it is furnished? ... To this I answer, in a word, by EXPERIENCE” (Herrnstein 311). When Locke speaks of the human mind as a “white paper devoid of all character,” he is referring to a newborn with no exposure to the environment. He then goes on to say that he must be “provided” with “experience.” What Locke ultimately means is that humans are born with a blank 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. Although traits may be determined at birth, the environment may still believe that traits are a combination of nature and nurture, as illustrated by the quote from psychologist Jerome Kagan: "Genes and family may determine the foundations of the house, but time and place determine its form” (Wozniak 37). There will never be an end to the nature versus nurture debate. After looking at different philosophers and studies, it is clear that there are legitimate arguments for both sides. Locke believed that we provide experience to our minds; Hobbes believed that human traits and behavior are determined at birth, and eventually Bouchard concluded that it was a mixture of the two. It is this author's conclusion that neither nature nor nurture is the cause of evil tendencies, as it is a combination of the two that truly shapes humanity. There are no rules. What we become as a result of our nature and upbringing can only be decided on a case by case basis..