[Gothmog]

To comment both SpM's and Hookbill's posts; I don't know if Orcs had their own fea but I do think that they had some sort of free will, judging by the way they sometimes talk about their masters. I can't confirm Hookbill's quote, but I'm sure I've heard orcs talk negative about their masters, and if they were under total control, this would be impossible for them. Also, it happens that the orcs are driven away and flee before an overwhelming enemy. If Sauron, or Morgoth, could control them fully, they would fight until the last drop of black goblin blood. This shows some sort of free mind and maybe some sort of soul?

Their behaviour, with destroying all living things for the fun of it as one part, can be both nature and nurture-related. We know too little about the orcs' development and their "education" to say something about this, really...

I'm leaning more to the view of an orc with some sort of soul, but with a partly inherited "evil". Though it is possible for this creature to redeem itself turn it's back to it's origin, it would be hard. But much of the evil of warrior orcs comes from their training and treatment when their younger and from that, a hatred to all things arises.

I know that it seems as if Tolkien meant the orcs to be soulless killing machines in some texts, but the way he portays them that doesn't seem to fit.

And yes SpM, the dog-lion comparison isn't totally applicable.

The first thing we need to decide is: is orcs' minds free? Next thing: how much of their evil is inherited? Only after answering these questions (and probably more that I've forgotten right now), we'll find an answer to this problem...