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Are People Truly Born Evil?

Troy Porter
Ottawa University
Abstract
The purpose of this bibliographic essay is to use collections of research and evidence in
order to attempt to find the true origin of evil in all people, and how that evil manifests itself in
an individual. With the amount of crime we see on the news, the murders, shootings and other
things of that nature it has to bring into a persons mind one question. What kind of person would
do something like that and why? This country and many others have an expansive history
involving violent crimes, some of them are too gruesome to discuss, and while others may not be
as gruesome they still causes a stir of emotions in individuals. The world of crime is a revolving
door that seems to never close no matter how many times the proper authorities try to put these
criminals in prison. The answer may lie in the upbringing of the next generation. Some believe
that certain people are born with malice in their hearts and are predestined to become infamous.
While others ponder the idea that people are born good and what makes these people evil is the
environment that surrounds them. This essay will include facts and data supporting and negating
the topic that people are born genuinely evil. The essay contains scholarly sources and
information that has been published through the peer review process. This includes eBooks,
websites, and information obtained from library databases.

Introduction
Throughout the history of the world there have been individuals that have committed
crimes so horrible, and done things so evil it brings up the topic question. Why do people commit
these types of crimes? If this question is answered and research can determine whether this kind
of violent behavior is learned throughout life or if it is manifested in them throughout their lives
it can be given to the masses and the world could be without a new massacre every couple of
months. The Oxford Dictionary defines evil as profoundly immoral, wicked or malevolent. The
definition of good is defined as that which is morally right, righteous. With this countrys past,
and current sprees of mass killing it is a matter of importance to at least attempt to discover the
psychological makeup of the people who somehow lack so much remorse to commit these
crimes against another human being in order to create a better future for the next generation.
The Studies of Prenatal Psychology
The birth experience is an amazing process that allows us to add to our growing families.
It brings joy to the face of everyone when it is discovered that they are given the blessing and
privilege of becoming parents. Inside of the womb for nine months, the child is developing
senses and brain functions. It has been proven that the child is able to develop thoughts and is
smart enough to know what it likes and dislikes as early as the second trimester. In the article
When does consciousness arise in human babies? (Koch 2009) the idea of children going
through REM sleep while still in the womb. The idea came about when doctors discovered that
while the fetus is sleeping in the womb its eyes are moving vigorously much like ours do while
dreaming. It is from this dream like state that bring up the idea that in this childs unconscious
mind somewhere they are forming a template for the kind of person they want to be, it is here

where most believe that the child becomes good or bad. If a person is to be born truly evil it
should develop that personality in the womb during the childs development prior to its birth.
It is in this state where the ideas of famous psychologist Sigmund Freud, who spent most
of his career studying the effects of the unconscious mind. The continuously molding and
evolving mind of an unborn child is in a state of unconsciousness for a lot of the pregnancy. Who
is to say that while in this state the noises and sounds surrounding the child are not entering the
unconscious mind of the child an affecting their personality in such a way as to create a person
with evil tendencies? There are tales that every parent says during pregnancy; one that is most
common is that having the unborn child listen to classical music in the womb will make them
smarter than the average newborn. If this is truly the case why cant this process work in reverse?
In the sense that poor environments create a child that doesnt know the difference between right
and wrong. There have been studies in the 1960s that led researchers to believe that there was a
disposition create while in the womb that made the child evil. Geneticists discovered a rare
condition, an extra Y-chromosome in some unusually violent offenders. Also those with this
condition were also shown to have a low I.Q. as well (Stephenson). This discovery has been
affirmed by many doctors in this field of study such as Dr. Adrian Raine, who is mentioned in the
article. In the article The Evil Gene, Raine states that despite strong criticisms from social
scientists, empirical data from several sources provide strong converging lines of evidence
indicating some degree of genetic predisposition for violence. (Stephenson).
Psychology of Young Adults
The mental state of a young person going through adolescence is ever changing. They are
experiencing a flux of emotions that they dont understand or know how to control. Jeffery

Dahmer, a serial killer known for practicing necrophilia with the bodies of his victims and
keeping their heads for his personal use later, learned of his excitement to kill at an early age,
while being unable to deal with the sexual urges he was having for other men (Tithecott 1997).
Kids have outlets for repressed emotions. Some kids turn to sports, while others spend time with
their friends. The lack of outlets could be the cause of the increase of unreleased emotions in
young adults. Young people are emotionally fragile and when pushed to a point where they have
a mental breakdown, they will do almost anything. For example the two kids who caused one of
the largest school shootings in the history of the country at Columbine High School were
believed to be drawn to such drastic actions because of the poisonous social atmosphere
prevalent at most high schools in this country, an atmosphere characterized by exclusion,
rejection, taunting, and humiliation (Aronson 2004). If this is true these young men felt there
was no other way to deal with their hardships than to kill everyone that crossed their path on that
day, then kill themselves. Sigmund Freud believes that we all have animalistic instincts that must
be acted upon. This is called the id. The id is the part of a persons personality that controls the
animalistic instincts and tendencies of a person. The id is the impulsive side of a person; it is
driven by pleasure (Gabbard 2004).
Environmental Effects on Personality
If people cannot be born evil, then that leaves only one scenario to weigh on, the
environment that certain children grow up in lead them down the road to violence. This is true in
some extreme situations where the environment that some kids lived in drew them to kill others.
If they were in some other area, or with different people they wouldnt have committed the
violent crimes they did. For example in Charles Ewings book Kids Who Kill he describes many
situations where environmental situations led children to commit heinous and brutal crimes.

Richard Jahnke a sixteen year old and his seventeen year old sister Deborah were charged with
the shootings of their parents. The two plotted the murder of their parents, and shot them both at
point blank range with a shotgun in the driveway. When the two were arrested it was proven that
the two teens were being abused and molested by their parents, and decided to kill their parents
because they saw no other way to escape their abusers (Ewing 1990). The toxic environment that
these children were put into is one that a child should never have to endure. But if these kids
were born to different parents, would they still be committers of patricide and matricide? Their
environment molded them into unremorseful killers. The environment that a person is placed in
does play a role in determining a persons eventual nature, but becoming evil is not the same as
being born evil.
Conclusion
In closing, it is unfair to say that people are born evil, but it is not far from false. A person
that can commit truly gruesome crimes with no remorse whatsoever is a certain kind of evil, how
that evil bred? I havent the slightest idea. But with all of the research, journal entries, and data
found to answer the topic question, it appears that people are not born evil. But it appears to be
that there is a psychological imbalance that could lead to a break in the persons psyche which
causes them to do the things they do. For example the extra Y-chromosome discussed in
Stephensons article The Evil Gene that was found in the deceased bodies of men who
committed extremely violent crimes should be enough to show that the upbringing of evil is
merely based on the placement of chromosomes at birth. This is something that we cannot
control, but if evil can be created by an outside environment it can also be destroyed by and
outside environment. This could mean that as a nation, these truly atrocious events, and

individuals could be eliminated and save the lives of many people and make all the people who
live in this world feel better protected from those around them.
Work Cited
Aronson, E. (2004). How the Columbine High School Tragedy could have been Prevented
Individual Psychology, 60(4). Retrieved September 6, 2015, from Google Scholar.
Cassidy, T. (1997). Environmental psychology: Behavior and experience in context. New York,
New York: Psychology Press
Ewing, C. (1990). Kids Who Kill. Lexington, Massachusetts: Lexington Books.
Gabbard, Glen O. "Reproduced with Permission of the Copyright Owner. Further Reproduction
Prohibited without Permission. Images in Psychiatry: Sigmund Freud, 1856-1939."
ProQuest Nursing & Allied Health Source. ProQuest Nursing & Allied Health Source,
Feb. 2004. Web. 12 Oct. 2015.
Koch, C. (2009, August 1). When Does Consciousness Arise in Human Babies? Retrieved
November 3, 2015.
McLeod, S. (2009). Unconscious Mind | Simply Psychology. Retrieved October 19, 2015.
Stephenson, F. (n.d.). The Evil Gene. Retrieved October 19, 2015.
Tithecott, R. (1997). Of Men and Monsters: Jeffrey Dahmer and the Construction of the Serial
Killer. Madison, Wisconsin: University of Wisconsin Press.

Windom, Cathy Spatz. "Alcohol Abuse as Risk Factor for and Consequence of Child Abuse."
Alcohol Research and Health. ProQuest Nursing & Allied Health Source, 2001. Web. 12
Oct. 2015.