John Locke, England, Every Person was born with tabula rasa – or blank mind. Environment determines if people are good or bad. Good environment leads to better people, better people leads to a better society. Foundation of modern liberalism.

Modern liberalism = gov’t has the resources and power to better a person’s environment. Therefore gov’t should provide benefits to help those in need to “better” their environment. Examples: Subsided housing, SNAP/EBT, WIC, tax breaks for the poor, free/reduced school lunch, etc.

Some of Locke’s ideas about tabula rasa have been disproven by science and understanding about brain chemistry. Some people are born with genetic issues that may influence behavior, regardless of their environment. Ex: ADHD, bi-polar disorders, schizophrenia, chemical imbalances in the brain, autism, low IQ, etc.

Are people born good or bad, or does their environment shape them?

Don’t write this – just read. Hitler – abused by his father, failure in school, mother died when he was 12 rejected to art school 2x. Charles Manson – mass murderer. Mother was 16 when he was born, was given away to another woman as infant, was beaten regularly by his step father, incarcerated at 12 years old, due to small stature was subjected to brutal beatings and rapes while in jail, by the age of 30 had spent most of his life in prison. Josef Stalin, leader of the Soviet Union – estimates he had 30-50 million killed, alcoholic father who beat him frequently, came from extreme poverty.

Ted Kaczynski – AKA “The Unabomber” (don’t’ write this down, just read it) Born into an upper middle class family in Chicago, excellent student, graduated from high school at 16, Harvard at 20, Ph.D in Mathematics. IQ estimated to be over 150. College professor, considered to be one the brightest mathematicians in US history. While living as a hermit in the woods, he began to send random bombs to people he had a grudge against. Killed 3 people and wounded many others. Took the FBI almost 20 years to finally catch him.

Don’t write this – just read it and think about it! Facts about the U.S. prison population: Only about half of incarcerated adults have a high school degree or its equivalent. In 2005, more than half of all people incarcerated in prisons and jails had a mental illness: 56 percent of state prisoners, 45 percent of federal prisoners, and 64 percent of jail inmates. Of those who had a mental illness, about three-quarters also had a co-occurring substance use disorder. Approximately 60 to 70 percent of youth in juvenile justice detention, correctional, or community-based facilities have a diagnosable mental illness and over 27 percent have a serious mental illness that impairs his or her ability to function. 73 percent of youth with emotional disabilities who drop out of school are arrested within five years.