Chernyshevsky Human Nature through Circumstance
... Although some people are very terrible I don’t believe that it is built into their nature. I would argue that even the vilest of people could have been “good” if only they were in a circumstance that promoted goodness. ... I don’t agree that he would have been consumed with hate no matter what the circumstance. ... Good people are a product of society and their circumstance. ... If goodness is intrinsic to the nature of man than surly Paul would not have denied Christ, Lord Himself. What is human nature? ... I think that people are a mix of both but it is their circumstance that brings out one side more or less than the other.