The nature versus nurture debate has been going on for a while. We see evidence everyday that they both have a huge impact on our life. It is not nature or nurture, it is both that makes us develop into the person we are today.
When I was in grade school, my best friend’s mother was a divorcee. Her ex husband had remarried and had other children with his second wife. I had never met him, for he and my friends mom had been married before I knew them. However, one day he was in pennsylvania with his new family and I met his children. They were rowdy, uncontrollable, spoiled little things. They yelled at each other all the time, and did not consider anything that came out of their parents’ mouths. I thought this was unbelievable, considering they were my best friends half siblings yet they were so different.
Since these children had been brought up in a deferent place and by a different set of parents, it seems to be a faulty argument. However, nature is certainly not the only factor influencing how one’s mind develops. My two cousins on my dad side (they are brothers) could not be more different. Even though they have the same blood, and almost the same genetics, they have completely separate interests and quirks. One owns his own restaurant, the other works for a large banking company that sends him all over the world.
So the nature versus nurture argument seems to be an inaccurate way to state these terms. It is not one or the other, there is a combination of the two in everyone. The question should not be is it one or the other, it should be how much does either one influence our lives.
There definitely is a relation or balance between nature versus nurture. The only problem with nature versus nature is that there is no definable way on how humanity has been influenced in one way or the other in terms of numbers or solid evidence. You may have a person that has the same upbringing and same environment such as identical twins that usually hang out with the same friends. When you see these scenarios, usually they are completely different because of their personal thought. Every single person has different thoughts and conclusions about their environment. One person may look at a piece of art that is a plain slab of white and say it is a masterpiece. Another person may think that it is an abomination to art. Another example may be the college education system. My opinion is that college should become more online based focusing on a more independent way of studying and acquiring knowledge based more on passion. Other people would not like the absence of classes because of the lack of exposure they feel they would have if there is not a set meeting for the class. People make completely different conclusions although they are exposed to the same stimuli.
I agree with your statement completely. Nature and Nurture both shape the people we are today. My father grew up in a very poor area in New York City. The people who surrounded him early in his life were very poor and crime was very frequent. His environment set him up for failure, very quick failure. His parents however, were very smart, and nurtured him his way through Boston College and to be a very successful business man. He didn’t fail because of his surrondings when he was given the same chance as everyone else. He could have easily been involved with gangs and drugs but the way he was raised and nurtured by his parents shaped him. Nature of environment as well as mind can affect many people and the combination with nurture shapes the way people live their lives.
I agree with your debate on the nature vs. nurture topic. My grandparents had four children who all have similar looking features but are completely different when it comes to personality. My grandfather was known to be a very intelligent and successful in business. My father ended up becoming a doctor and did not choose the path of business. My other relatives went on to become teachers and lawyers. This shows that the type of environment you are brought up in will effect your decision-making.
I totally agree! Nurture and nature work together to form who we are. I have two siblings and we were raised in the same home, same town, by the same parents, but we all react differently to situations or have different personality traits.
I agree with your statement completely. I personally believe that the way that you are raised is the most influential factor in life that makes you who you are. My mom was in a very similar situation where she was split apart from her sister at a young age, (she was raised by her mom with her younger sister and her older sister was raised by her dad) it is interesting to see how different she is from her oldest sister and how similar she is to her younger sister. They share the same values and morals which I personally feel are taught to you. Even though all three girls came from the same parents there are many differences in the personalities between my mom, her youngest and her oldest sister. I think that our experiences make us who we are and that it has very little to do with nature.
I completely agree with your comment that nature vs. nuture are a mixed of both. While my brother and I are completely similar in what we like, our IQ, and many other qualities our sister, raised by the same parents and in the same home is almost complete opposite of us. It is not one or the other obviously, or we would all be the same and we are not.
I agree with your statement on the nature vs. nurture argument. The use of your example proves that no two people are alike because that is what makes us unique individuals. I especially liked how you concluded your paper bearing in mind that, “The question should not be is it one or the other, it should be how much does either one influence our lives”. I felt that question was a step in the right direction. There is no doubt that nurture plays a significant role in what we can become and can achieve in the future. In some cases, it takes our experiences in life to have a better understanding of what truly lies within us. However, the bigger question should be to what degree does each play in our lives. Further research could be done to examine the role both nature and nurture have played in the lives of people we deem to be successful.
One of my close friends is in the same situation as your friend. Her parents divorced when she was 10, and her mother remarried and had a few children. The step-father was more math and science type person, whereas my friend’s father was an English teacher and an artist. Although I think that some of the traits were passed down through genetics, you’re right about the nurture part affecting families.
My friend is very loud, outspoken, creative, and loves to draw in her free time. Its hard to say whether or not this is because of her father’s personality (who she lives with almost all the time) or the genetics she had passed down from her father’s creative side. Her half siblings are more analytic, love math, and are very shy, just like their father. It is weird to think that they share a similar parent but are completely different. I think that this is due to the nurture in which they were raised; the half siblings were told by their father to be good in school and get good grades. Whereas my friend’s father told her to express herself.
I totally agree with you! The nature vs nurture debate is one that will never have a true answer because everyone is a mixture of the two! I had watched a movie about 4 siblings in which were all raised by the same mother and father. Same genes, same looking features, but differing personalities. 3 were successful and one had become addicted to drugs. Though they all grew up in the same household with the same parents, one was so much more different than the others. This shows how nurture and how we encounter the world differs from one person to another.
I have witnessed similar actions on the part of children of divorces. Although I have not experienced it first hand, I do have quite a few friends who have. I have noticed in most, albeit not all, that divorces cause previously outgoing people to begins acting in a more subdued fashion, and almost show a lack of life. This is a great example of nurture, and how the environment around impressionable children can have a possibly negative effect upon them.
I like how you ended with each person is a combination of nature and nurture. Because when you hear about it or read about it in texts books it is normally strictly one or the other, not both. When to me it has no choice but to be a combination. I also like your example of your friend’s half siblings. It was a great way to go to show that even though they share a parent they can turn out drastically different. The same happened with two friends (twins) of mine. They were raised by either the father or the mother and it made them resemble that parent more then each other.
I completely agree with you on this debate! I have two identical twin cousins and like typical twins they share the same features, looks, and mannerisms. They were raised the exact same way, participated in the same sports, and taught the same values. But when they went to college, they went opposite directions. My first cousin went to Ohio State and my second Alabama. One got heavily involved with drugs and partying and the other focused his time on his studies and landing internships and job experience. Things spiraled out of control for one and he had to drop out and leave for rehab, the other landed a job on Wallstreet. Life IS a combination of nature and nurture, because as I illustrated you can be raised the exact same way in the same loving family, but the environment a person lives in will contribute and impact who they become.
I totally agree with you on your idea about the nature and nurture debate. There is an old quote which says that “people are born to be good.” However, the truth is, there are not always nice people in the world. As we can see, the environment in which we are growing up is very important and it actually shapes who we are, which corroborates that, to some degree, Empiricism is true. However, just like your examples, I believe that no twins or siblings are the same. Even though they share genes and have almost the same living environments, most brothers and sisters are still very different from each other. Since it is very hard to tell which concept is right or wrong, and some of our real life experiences even convince us that neither of them is correct, we should have a critical and open mind to receive the information, even it is regarded as authentic.