Nature Versus Nurture
Nature versus Nurture The nature versus nurture debate has been one that has been around for centuries. This debate was spawned from the idea that nature and nurture are both pieces of the human puzzle. Are we as humans shaped because of our genes only or are we influenced by our peers and environment? The opinion of this writer is that a person is who he or she is based on both principals of nature and nurture.
Personal Thoughts My thoughts on nature and nurture have never been explored until now. I have always assumed that I am who I am because God made me this way. Now that I have learned a bit more about this debate, I find that I am a product of both nature and nurture. I am tall, have brown hair, wear glasses, and speak with a country accent because of my gene structure given to me by my parents. The way that I act and my thought processes come from influences in my environment and the teachings of my family. “We are a product of nature and nurture, but we are also an open system” (Myers, pg. 167). This means that even though genes and culture are influences in a person’s overall structure, a person can defy each. For example, as a teenager, I was always pressured to go with the crowd and conform to their ways of thinking and acting. I wanted so badly to fit in and found it difficult because I was tall, lanky, and had acne which was all given to me by my nature or genetic structure. Growing up in a smaller town, teenage drinking was a pressure of my social group and while I knew it would be the “thing to do”, I opposed what culture was telling me was okay. I chose not to go with the crowd and for that, I enjoyed my high school experience in my own way. I was taught by my parents the consequences of right and wrong and knew that making such choices were wrong for me which was instilled in me through the nurture part of my makeup. God says "Train up a child in the way in which he should go" (Prov. 22:6) which must have been a very
Personal Thoughts My thoughts on nature and nurture have never been explored until now. I have always assumed that I am who I am because God made me this way. Now that I have learned a bit more about this debate, I find that I am a product of both nature and nurture. I am tall, have brown hair, wear glasses, and speak with a country accent because of my gene structure given to me by my parents. The way that I act and my thought processes come from influences in my environment and the teachings of my family. “We are a product of nature and nurture, but we are also an open system” (Myers, pg. 167). This means that even though genes and culture are influences in a person’s overall structure, a person can defy each. For example, as a teenager, I was always pressured to go with the crowd and conform to their ways of thinking and acting. I wanted so badly to fit in and found it difficult because I was tall, lanky, and had acne which was all given to me by my nature or genetic structure. Growing up in a smaller town, teenage drinking was a pressure of my social group and while I knew it would be the “thing to do”, I opposed what culture was telling me was okay. I chose not to go with the crowd and for that, I enjoyed my high school experience in my own way. I was taught by my parents the consequences of right and wrong and knew that making such choices were wrong for me which was instilled in me through the nurture part of my makeup. God says "Train up a child in the way in which he should go" (Prov. 22:6) which must have been a very
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