Nature vs. Nurture Albert Camus once said, “Man is the only creature who refuses to be what he is.” But what makes man what he is? Is it his sheer genetic makeup, or is it the way he was raised? The nature vs. nurture debate has raged on for centuries, but neither side has been able to prove their point indefinitely. Even today we see displays of the contrast between genetics and learned behaviors, some of which are athletics, intelligence, medical histories, etc. Every person is completely unique, a combination of genetic makeup and environment make an individual who they are. Though the argument has never been settled, both sides of the Nature vs. Nurture debate hold enough evidence to make a strong case for their beliefs. Those on the nature side believe that all aspects of a person’s being are granted to him or her through the genetics at birth. Every ounce of ability, intelligence, and personality are derived from the ancestry of the person in question. Those who propose the nurture side of the argument believe that the source of a person’s intelligence, personality, and abilities are developed through experiences in their life and the environment in which they were raised in. They believe the traits that are developed by humans are in direct correlation to the positive or negative environment where an individual is raised. Experts have argued over nature or nurture for centuries, but there is still no answer to the age old issue. An English scientist named
1. The on-going debate Nature vs. Nurture addresses the following questions: Are we born with
The historical debate regarding nature and nurture has been going on for years and is still unresolved. Many theorists believe what we have inherited and our genes, makes us the way we are and how we develop. Other theorists believe it is the way we are brought up and our experiences, that make us the way we are and how we develop.
Nature or Nurture. Nature may be all of the genes and hereditary factors with which influence them to become who they are such as physical appearances and personality characteristics. Nurturing impacts people’s lives as well as how they are raised and all the environmental factors. In combination, these qualities can be the true identity of oneself. Many people may argue that nurture appears to a play huge factor in the two, but others may think otherwise. Not having both as a characteristic can have a negative effect on a person physically and mentally. The debate of nature versus nurture appears to be the oldest argument known to man, and it still remains to be unanswered. In the old-age argument nature versus nurture, nature may play a huge role in determining a person’s true identity.
Stephanie Bueno Ms.Parascandolo Humanities II 9/1/14 Nature V.S Nurture It’s a question that many people have asked throughout history to get the psychological process of how people obtain certain qualities that make them who they are. The question everyone knows, Nature or Nurture? People grow up to be who they are because of one of these two factors.
The nature-nurture debate has been around for decades. It is one of the oldest and most popular topics in the history of psychology asking what makes people who they become and how they behave and develop the way they do. What makes the debate more interesting is that now scientists are asking if personality traits and even sexual orientation can be determined by what is in already there from conception. Bodies are built up of chromosomes which contain genetic information. Many of these are inherited from parents and relatives. The nature side of the debate states the way people are is predominantly from inherited genetics and other biological factors not so much the environmental factors. The genes humans have in their bodies play a huge role to many aspects of who they are and who they become. For example, hair colour, eye colour and height are all predetermined by genes. Unchangeable. This is natures way. The argument stands to decide whether most attributes do stem from nature, genes, or if they can be affected by the environment and the way people are nurtured as they have grown. The nurture side of the argument believes although humans do have the genes and traits with which they are born, most personality traits are being made up of environmental factors. For example, being loved and cared for as children, if parents or carers were positive role models and if those people were taught in ways which provided them with discipline and respect for others. Where nature
When examining human development, the universal idea of conflict between nature and nurture often arises. The argument presented by the “Nature vs Nurture” debate is extremely controversial and has been discussed and critiqued for decades. “Nurture” is cited as being a combination of elements from one’s environment and experiences that shapes a person and their life, whereas “Nature” is cited as being a combination of genetic and hereditary aspects that dictates who a person is and will become. The controversy surrounding the argument most directly stems from the differences of views on whether or not nature or nurture affects a person’s life more. Historians, scientists, psychologists, and everyday philosophers have all studied this uncertainty, and many of whom have developed countless theories. Among these is the
Nature Vs Nurture is often the huge debate in psychology when it comes to determining and understanding individual’s characteristics traits. Nature is hereditary to our behavior while nurture is based on our environmental influences. Although most argue whether or not nature or nurture defines our characteristics, I believe both have an impact on we are.
The nature vs nurture issue has been a controversial argument among psychologist for decades. This argument exposes two different views. One of them emphasizes that our personality depends solely on genetics (nature). On the other hand, the second view suggests that humans “develop through experience” (Myers 2013, SG 6) (nurture).
It has been noted that neither nature nor nurture can on their own provide complete explanation. All characteristics are product of nature and nurture.
The nature vs. nurture debate has been around almost as long as the chicken vs. egg debate. Indeed, some unexplainable instances point startlingly to the prominence of nature in someone’s character and personality. However, while these such cases are definitely much more eye-catching, they are not nearly as plentiful as those that we see but overlook everyday pointing to nurture. Almost everyone agrees that someone’s personality is not solely a result of their nature, and the same goes with nurture. It is the combination of these that we try to be deciphered, and the overwhelming majority of examples point to the significance of nurture over nature.
The “Nature vs. Nurture” debate is an argument in which people attempt to determine how children’s behaviour develops. The term “nature” refers to your DNA and hereditary factors, whereas the term “nurture” refers to how you were raised and environmental factors. When the question was first posed, some believed that behaviour was developed only through hereditary factors, and that how a child was nurtured had no effect on their behaviour, while others believed the opposite. In the book Essentials of Understanding Psychology, it is stated that, “although the question was first posed as a nature-versus-nurture issue, developmental psychologists today agree that both nature and nurture interact to produce specific developmental patterns and
In society, not one person is alike. By saying this, many people believe that they strongly take after their parents. Meaning they think Nature is a big part in their life and why they are who they are. The genes in each cell in us humans determine the different traits that we have, more dominantly on the physical connections like eye color, hair color, ear size, height, and other traits. However, it is still not known whether the more abstract attributes like personality, intelligence, sexual orientation, likes and dislikes are gene-coded in our DNA. The nurture theory has experiments showing a child’s behavior with the environment as to adult behavior. In the Nature Vs Nurture debate, everyone has their own thoughts and ideas on each
The ongoing debate of the topic “Nurture” is more important than “nature”, has been considered true many times throughout the world from books to real life scenarios and events, but what is our meaning of “nurture” and “nature”? The common aspect of “nurture” is where outside influences determine what we will be like society being an example, while “nature” is basically that genetics determine the outcome of how people turn out. There is an easy argument for the case of “nurture”, but just because of the argument being an easy case, is it really true? People acquire their personalities, opinions and beliefs through “nurture”, while they also inherit a much deeper meaning of quality through “nature”, being that, quality is the trait which it takes to commit murder, seek risk, or become an accountant. That is why the statement “nurture” is more important than “nature”is false.
Through history, the idea of nature vs. nurture has been a hotly debated issue. Nature, or genetics is often believed to be the most important aspect of a persons’ upbringing, as nature is something intrinsic to any one person. However, many debate that nurture, or the care and encouragement of any human life, trumps nature. The earliest evidence and rebuttals of these theories have been honed and developed over time by specific psychologists and educational theorists – all who hoped to prove their own ideas as fact at one time in history.
The debate between nature verse nurture theories focus on whither a person’s development is dependent upon ones genetic blueprint or the