system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
[lotr] Are orcs so evil due to nature or nurture? Could a baby orc adopted by great, good parents of another race be raised into a good adult?
gpt
In LOTR? Signs point to "Evil by design", though it should be noted that Tolkien actually went back on this designation later in his life, unwilling to write off an entire race as "evil",  though he never really came up with a good explanation for why the entire species acts the way it does. Presumably an Orc that was raised by kind, loving people in a good environment that encouraged peace and gentility would grow up to be a good person, but there is something about Orcs which simply doesn't foster that kind of environment. They are almost all bullies, cowards, treacherous and craven, who fight each other even when there is no reason to fight. They are even portrayed as cannibals, who will gladly descend on each other if the opportunity presents itself. You could claim it was the influence of Sauron on them but even the Goblins of the Misty Mountains act like this, and they answered to no one but themselves.