Swedenborgianism teaches that humanity inherits an inclination toward self-love and evil from Adam—not the Augustinian doctrine of imputed guilt and total depravity. This hereditary inclination is real but not determinative; it is the ground of human temptation, not the cause of damnation.

Each person is responsible for their own choices and can, through God's grace and their own effort, overcome hereditary tendencies toward evil. The doctrine of hereditary evil explains the universal human struggle with sin without denying human freedom or making God the author of evil. Spiritual regeneration through cooperation with divine grace is the remedy.