Nurture is usually important, but most scenes Angel(us) has in which his 'teaching' of Spike is brought up -- Angel generally seems to express that he couldn't get Spike to do anything Spike didn't want to do. Angelus would say stuff, Spike would get his own ideas and look to run off in another direction, and Angelus couldn't stop him.
Which is to say that the Vampire Spike was, wasn't so much about what Angelus taught or wanted, but about what Spike thought he should be and somewhat influenced by what Angelus would say. Angelus mentions the slayer, and then Spike has to run off and kill one. Now, Angelus doesn't really want Spike to be killing slayers - and ultimately Spike isn't killing a Slayer to prove something to Angel but because it's what he really wants to be doing regardless of what Angelus thinks.
Same as in S6 with Buffy... where Spike will tell Buffy he's doing what she wanted and trying to be what she wants him to be, but that really isn't the case. He's doing what he thinks will get her to love him without necessarily listening to what she says.
Spike hears Buffy say "I couldn't trust/love you because you don't have a soul" and so he eventually goes off and gets one. But it's not like Buffy actually told him to get a soul, or wanted him to get a soul. He hears what people say, and when it seems to coincide with what he wants, he takes those ideas and runs with them.
WHich is, for me, to say that I think all of the big 'nurture stuff' with Spike was already set before he got made a vampire and is more important than the nurture stuff after that. Until he gets the soul back, and then he really grows up more in S7 and on AtS in S5.
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Which is to say that the Vampire Spike was, wasn't so much about what Angelus taught or wanted, but about what Spike thought he should be and somewhat influenced by what Angelus would say. Angelus mentions the slayer, and then Spike has to run off and kill one. Now, Angelus doesn't really want Spike to be killing slayers - and ultimately Spike isn't killing a Slayer to prove something to Angel but because it's what he really wants to be doing regardless of what Angelus thinks.
Same as in S6 with Buffy... where Spike will tell Buffy he's doing what she wanted and trying to be what she wants him to be, but that really isn't the case. He's doing what he thinks will get her to love him without necessarily listening to what she says.
Spike hears Buffy say "I couldn't trust/love you because you don't have a soul" and so he eventually goes off and gets one. But it's not like Buffy actually told him to get a soul, or wanted him to get a soul. He hears what people say, and when it seems to coincide with what he wants, he takes those ideas and runs with them.
WHich is, for me, to say that I think all of the big 'nurture stuff' with Spike was already set before he got made a vampire and is more important than the nurture stuff after that. Until he gets the soul back, and then he really grows up more in S7 and on AtS in S5.