# Is Human Nature Innately Good or Evil by Ann Crittenden > “Another question that has fallen into the dustbin of history is this: Is human nature innately good or evil? This became a gripping topic in the late 17th century, as Enlightment thinkers began to challenge the Christian assumption that man was born a fallen creature. It was a great debate while it lasted: original sin vs. tabla rasa and the perfectability of man; Edmund Burke vs. Tom Paine; Dostoyevsky vs. the Russian reformers. But Darwin and Freud undermined the foundations of both sides, by discrediting the very possibility of discussing human nature in moral or teleological terms. Now the debate has been recast as "nature vs. nurture" and in secular scientific circles at least, man is the higher primate -- a beast with distinctly mixed potential.” > **— Ann Crittenden**, *2001, Edge Annual Question, “What Questions Have Disappeared?”* ## Sources and Context - **Direct Edge response and surrounding essay:** [Is human nature innately good or evil?](https://www.edge.org/response-detail/12011) — Edge published this exact passage in its 2001 Annual Question collection, *WHAT QUESTIONS HAVE DISAPPEARED?*. The response page preserves the surrounding argument and qualifications. - **Complete local collection index:** [[research/Edge 2001 Full Quotation Curation - Disappeared Questions|Edge 2001 Full Quotation Curation - Disappeared Questions]] — retained source-first record for the complete response cohort and this passage's promotion status. ## Related Articles and Collections - **Collection:** [[collections/Edge|Edge]] - **Collection:** [[collections/Machine Succession|Machine Succession]] - **Article:** [[articles/The Evolutionary Roots of Silicon Valley|Valley Roots]] - **Article:** [[articles/Digital Darwinism and the Invisible World of Machine Evolution|Digital Darwinism]] - **Article:** [[articles/We Were Never Going to Make It|Never Going to Make It!]] - **Wiki map:** [[wiki/Evolutionary Biology|Evolutionary Biology]] ## Related Topics - [[wiki/Evolutionary Biology|Evolutionary Biology]] - [[wiki/Charles Darwin|Charles Darwin]] - [[wiki/Darwinian Evolution|Darwinian Evolution]] - [[wiki/Evolutionary Theory|Evolutionary Theory]] ## Share on Social Media ``` “Another question that has fallen into the dustbin of history is this: Is human nature innately good or evil? This became a gripping topic in the late 17th century, as Enlightment thinkers began to challenge the Christian assumption that man was born a fallen creature. It was a great debate while it lasted: original sin vs. tabla rasa and the perfectability of man; Edmund Burke vs. Tom Paine; Dostoyevsky vs. the Russian reformers. But Darwin and Freud undermined the foundations of both sides, by discrediting the very possibility of discussing human nature in moral or teleological terms. Now the debate has been recast as "nature vs. nurture" and in secular scientific circles at least, man is the higher primate -- a beast with distinctly mixed potential.” — Ann Crittenden, 2001, Edge Annual Question, “What Questions Have Disappeared?” https://bryantmcgill.com/simple-reminders-ann-crittenden-human-nature-innately-good-evil ```