freda...I don't think that it's even necessary to debate 'original sin' anymore...

what you say is quite close to the 'tabula rasa' theory that was so popular years ago. I studied Psychology under one of the foremost proponents of that, N.H. Pronko. He believed that everything about us was a product of complex environmental influences, and wrote many papers about it. Unfortunately, most current research is indicating that there are other factors involved, and sometimes override all attempts to modify behavior.

No one doubts that BAD behavior can be increased by bad childhoods, but it is less obvious that good childhood is enough to guarantee good behavior.