The Power of Nature and Nurture Essay - 1562 Words

Noted psychologist Jerome Kagan once said Genes and family may determine the foundation of the house, but time and place determine its form (Moore 165). The debate on nature versus nurture has been a mystery for years, constantly begging the question of whether human behavior, ideas, and feelings are innate or learned over time. Nature, or genetic influences, are formed before birth and finely-tuned through early experiences. Genes are viewed as long and complicated chains that are present throughout life and develop over time. Nature supporters believe that genes form a childs conscience and determine ones approach to life, contrasting with nature is the idea that children are born â€Å"blank slates,† only to be formed by experience,†¦show more content†¦John Locke advocated his policy of tabula rasa, which follows the path of Aristotles teachings. It describes humans as â€Å"blank slates†, completely shaped through their environment. According to Locke, ev erything related to human character is determined by experience. In An Essay Concerning Human Understanding, Locke writes, Let us suppose the mind to be, as we say, white paper void of all characteristics, without any ideas. How comes it to be furnished? Whence comes it by that vast store which the busy and boundless fancy of man has painted on it with endless variety? Whence has it all the materials of reason and knowledge? To this I answer, in one word, from EXPERIENCE (Goleman 3). This argument was challenged by Rene Descartes, an advocator of Plato who emphasized that each human being is born with individual, underlying ideas that shape ones approach in life. Descartes’s research inspired future biologists into the field of genetics. In 1864, famous geneticist Francis Galton wrote Their Nature and Nurture, a novel that combines the ideas of these previous philosophers. He argued, Nature and Nurture are a convenient jungle of words, for it separates under two distinct head s the innumerable elements of which personality is composed. Nature is all that a man brings with himself into the world; nurture is every influence thatShow MoreRelatedThe Theory Of Nature Vs. Nurture1680 Words   |  7 PagesThe theory of nature vs. nurture, or inherited vs. acquired, is a complex psychological theory that questions how people develop, as a person, in life and how they act. Their impact determines your personality traits, values, morals, and behavior in life. The idea of nature is the belief that people develop into who they are based on genetic traits given to them at birth. For example, some children inherit a musical talent from their parents along with eye color, hair color, and race. These traitsRead MoreNature vs Nurture Essay804 Words   |  3 PagesThe controversy of nature vs. nurture has been disputed for years. 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