Thread: Nature vs. Nurture

I can't believe this isn't already a thread in the "Brain Stew" forum, as its a major study in certain fields. I know I've personally had to write papers and study the topic for general sociology and psychology. I'll post more of my beliefs after I see what you all are saying, but what really fascinates me are stories/studies done of identical twins.



ps I would've made this a poll, but I had no idea how

Eh, it's both. You can't definitively say it's only one or the other. The way we think is pretty much determined by the chemical pathways in our brain. These chemical pathways are in the very beginning defined by our DNA, so that's where nature comes in. And it prolly plays a huge part. But the brain can also adapt in many situation. It has the ability to rewire itself, to create new paths, and change old ones, so nurture can also play a big part.

I haven't yet really decided if I believe if either nature or nurture plays a bigger role. But I think I'm leaning more towards the nature part.

Madkats said it the way it is.
There is no nature VS nurture, instead it's a combination of both.
They are both necessary, at least to some degree.

Personally, I believe nature preempts nurture.

Why? Well, let me tell you a story.

My nephew's father took off when he was very small. His father, Bryan, was not an easy man. Addicted to drugs and alcohol, suffering from Oppositional Defiant Disorder and delusions of grandeur, abusive to his girlfriend... As a child he was completely out of control. Although bright, his grades slipped in school. He grew increasingly resentful and defiant. He became physically violent towards himself and others, and that's when he began dabbling in drugs (probably in an attempt to self medicate.)

Bryan's "mother" should never be allowed to carry the title. She ignored him in favor of his sisters, rarely hugged him, penalized him physically... she didn't know the meaning of the word "nurture" and it showed in Bryan as he developed.

Then Bryan met my sister Julie and they conceived a son, Aaron.

Aaron was a bright, beautiful, and compassionate child richly loved by his mother. Although Bryan took off when Aaron was an infant, he was showered with love by his mother and grandparents. He was given everything he needed and a lot of what he wanted. Happy and well adjusted, it seemed he was nothing like the person his father was.

But when Aaron turned 8 things changed. Suddenly he started showing signs of anger, defiance, and opposition. All the qualities that had led to his fathers destructive path, started appearing in Aaron. As time went by he grew increasingly like his father, despite never having been exposed to the man. And despite all the care and love his mother gave him, nothing seemed to work. It appeared Aaron was destined to live out his father's terrible legacy.

This story is a lot longer and more involved but I have shared the necessary details. All the rest is airing dirty laundry and I'd rather not expose that. The point is that personal experience shows me that DNA trumps love and nurturing... in the end, who we are is decided before we are even born.

I'm not sure what the research says, but I would assume that environmental factors would have the larger influence over how a person's life turns out. Certainly genetics plays a part in setting upper limits, but that's about it.

I await smh0006's comments. Hopefully he will relate some current research.

I agree with konVILEuted, "there is no nature VS nurture, instead it's a combination of both." A child lives what he/she learns. Still, if given enough of society's evils, even the best loved and smartest child can become evil and do bad things. IMO nurture rule when a person is a child but nature reigns as that child starts to think for itself. The human brain is indeed complex but human emotions are even more so.

I feel like we just inadvertently helped the op write a paper for his ethics course :|