Are people innately evil, or do they become evil due to negative life experiences? Can a universal internal moral imperative rooted in an innate good will exist independently of self-interest? Contemporary theorists from a variety of disciplines in the humanities and sciences argue that human beings are motivated by amoral internal forces that are shaped into moral action through diverse cultural learning processes. Notions such as the nature of subjectivity, agency, relationality, and capacities for critical self reflection are brought into question. These and other issues are explored through the lenses of philosophy, social theory, psychoanalysis, and religion in dialogue with relevant classical and contemporary thinkers.