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Nature vs. Nurture

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The argument of nature vs. nurture can be dated as far back as 300 BC during Socrates and Plato’s time. These Greeks introduced the term nativism (nature) as the idea that our thoughts, ideas, and characteristics are inborn. In other words, we are believed to be born with these thoughts, ideas and characteristics, and that they are already in our genes. On the other hand, Aristotle introduced the idea to us of empiricism, or nurture. He described this as knowledge is gained through experience (senses). Our thoughts and ways are not because of our genetic make-up, but because of how we were raised and brought up by our parents and overall lifestyle.

I believe that my elder sister and I are a prime example of the argument of nature vs. nurture. For our entire lives, we have been brought up by the same parents, in the same household. We attended the same school district, went on the same vacations, had the same household rules- basically experienced all of the same big events and occurrences throughout our childhood lives. So what explains why we have turned out oh, so different?

Hands down, I am a “type B” person and my sister, without a question, is “type A”. Her personality and ways of being fit the structured, disciplined and “black or white, right or wrong” lifestyle. To describe me on the other hand, basically take all of that and turn it around! My personality is very easy-going, go-with-the-flow, and I do not enjoy intense schedules or structure. We are definitely at two opposite ends of the spectrum!

So if essentially everything was the same and equal when we were growing up, what explains the difference in our personalities? In our case, I would have to argue that it is definitely nature. Nature holds true in my situation because even though the majority of our lives were the same, in the same environment with the same upbringing etc, we turned out to be two totally different people with different personalities, thoughts and feelings. If nurture was the case, we would have grown up to have much more similar personalities, and would have the same thoughts and opinions etc. on various topics; there would be not much to distinguish between the two of us much beyond physical appearance.

Nature may not be the case in every sibling’s situation, but it is definitely the case when it comes to my sister and I. Even though our personalities have definitely clashed here or there along the way, I’d say we balance each other out pretty well, most of the time!

“Motivated to seek pleasure, not pain”

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Behavior is truly a fascinating concept to try to understand. It has long been the topic of many heated discussions from even the “Pre-Greek” times. Humans are pleasure seeking individuals. It is sad to say it but humans are selfish in terms of their desires. Aristotle stated that concept perfectly and exposed it with his research. He noticed that humans are motivated to seek what feels good to them and place a long distance on what doesn’t. What is incredible about that is that what he thought, holds true even in our modern times. People hate to do what they don’t like doing and that is understandable but because of that, they tend to make extremely impulsive decisions based on what their own desires are. And what their desires aren’t always the best thing for them.

I used to have a friend, we will call him James for the purpose of this story. He was a very devoted Christian who went to church every Sunday, always made sure the things that he did never counteracted with his morals, what you would describe as the “perfect little church boy”. But that was when James was in his younger more naïve years. Once he reached high school, it seemed like a switch just went off in him that was causing him to act in ways that no one has ever seen him act before. Drugs, sex with almost anyone, disrespecting his parents and crazy parties became somewhat of a common lifestyle for James. And whenever someone would approach him about it, he always gave the same response, “I just feel like doing it. It makes me happy, don’t judge me.” I’ve even spoken to him and it is clear that he knows that what he is doing is wrong. He realizes and accepts that and continues to go against all that he is founded on and all that his religion asks of him…all because he “feels like it”.

It seems as though more and more people are just doing anything because they really believe that they should have that right and no one should take away that right. Aristotle’s take on how people behave was a brilliant one but also a blatant one. If you study any person, you can tell that it is their innate instinct to do what they want to do. They don’t want to be held down by rules or people telling them to do otherwise so they go out of their way to rebel and do whatever they were going to do in the first place. It is the way it has been, the way it is now and the way it will continue to be. I am not necessarily saying that there is something wrong with people following their own desires, but it is some of the decisions that people make that really raises the question of if following your desires is always the right thing. People like to be themselves and I get it, but being too vain and disregarding criticism sometimes can lead you to be something you never thought you would be.

Nature vs. Nurture

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Aristotle believed that human beings gain everything they know through personal experiences. He developed this idea of empiricism, which most people will refer to as the nurture side of the Nature vs. Nurture debate. Besides looking nearly identical to my mom, I also act a lot like her. We share the same interests, ranging from what type of movies we want to watch to our favorite types of food to our views about the world. I believe that I adapted these preferences because that’s what I grew up around the most. We almost have the same clothing style. We have the same sense of humor.  We are both very interested in health and nutrition. We both enjoy cooking. We have the same love for shopping. We have similar tastes in music too. There are so many learned behaviors that I now possess because of the time I have spent with my mom.

On the other side of the spectrum, Plato and Socrates gave us the idea that behaviors and thoughts are inborn. They described this as nativism, which was the nature side of the debate. I believe this also has a strong effect on people. I think the way I handle my emotions is incredibly similar to the way my mom handles situations. We very rarely get angry. If we do, we just end up crying because we get so stressed out. However, my sister and my dad are both incredibly short-tempered. They are definitely yellers when they get frustrated. The two of them have also had to deal with depression, while my mom and I have never had to go through that. I believe that the ways my sister and I handle our emotions were completely genetic.

Obviously, both nativism and empiricism come into play with developing a person’s behavior. It’s difficult to pinpoint which traits are learned and which traits are innate. People change their behaviors daily. We don’t change drastically, but we are all constantly trying to be the person we aspire to be. We observe the people around us, and we may begin to pick up their admirable traits as our own. We can never completely alter who we were born as though because, as we all know, some things just can’t change.