King Lear: Innocence vs Evil

A contrasting example which we just read is "King Lear" by Shakespeare. Edmund, a main character who is the "bastard son" of Gloucester, betrays his family in order to help rule England with the two evil sisters, Goneril and Regan. Edmund feels that he has been mistreated his whole life not only by his family, but by society too, purely for the reason that he is and is referred to as a "bastard child." He is deceived as being lower than everyone else because he was an "accident," and he doesn't get the chance to actually show and prove to everyone his real personality, character, and identity. The reader would now believe that because of his neglected upbringing, this results in his jealousy and evil ambition which is slowly displayed as he begins his evil and powerful quest with Goneril and Regan. However, at the end of the play as Edmund is about to die, he proclaims that he was simply born as a natural evil person. Is this true? Can a person really be born evil? Is it be genetic? I don't believe so. I don't believe a person can be born evil without every knowing anything about themselves, the world, and certain values and traits which society carries. Edmund says this to try to ask for forgiveness and remorse for all of his poor actions, which he now realizes negatively affected every character in the play, several of which are his direct family members.