Nature Vs Nuture Essay Research Paper Nurture

Nature Vs Nuture Essay, Research Paper

Nurture Versus Nature

The question of what is the greatest factor in the development of

human intelligence, sociability, interpersonal skills, and personality has been

debated as long as modern humanity has had the capacity to wonder about it.

Depending on the intellectual background or mindset of any individual asked,

the answer will vary. Some social scientists and theorists argue in behalf of

the effect of the environment in which a child is raised as the primary

influence. Many of those most thoroughly grounded in medical or physical

science traditions can point to a number of ways, in which one’s genetic code

at birth, is the determining factor of how well or how thoroughly one.s

intelligence develops. The proliferation of the so-called .genius. sperm

banks that exist give proof to how seriously that premise is believed by many.

Not surprisingly, the number and type of studies that exist correspond

with the particular belief pattern, or at least is biased, in favor of the thoughts

and belief patterns of the individual researcher. According to Bettelheim

(1998), some researchers are looking for a genetic basis for common,

everyday behaviors, including sexuality, violence, and risk-taking. There is

an ongoing debate, sometimes a heated one, over how much biology controls

what a person does; the flip side of the debate asks whether society relies too

much on science without enough focus on the undeniably important aspects

of the parents’ and caregivers’ of a child to appropriately nurture his or her

growth. Some feel the importance of social/economic conditions and life in

the home is downplayed far too much. Advocates on the nurture side of the

argument point to the fact that the input of the child.s role model is of far

greater importance than any aspect of genetic make up.

Of course, culture serves as yet another point of argument in the debate.

Two sides of the issue exist in terms of cultural expectation for development

of intelligence. First is the idea that an infant, born into a more advanced

culture and presented with a greater number of entrenched cultural

opportunities, is certain to garner a greater level of intelligence. The

opposite, and equal argument, is that innate intelligence is best developed in

the infant born into a culture more holistically and intuitively developed,

perhaps even .primitive. by some standards. And yet, the issue of culture

ultimately can be reduced to .nurture vs nature. as well. The cultural

implications and training that surround a child.s upbringing are certainly key

components in how that child will be nurtured throughout childhood.

Herbert (1997) points out that in many ways the view of mental illness as

a brain disease has been of vital importance in the work to reduce the stigma

of frightening and misunderstood illnesses such as schizophrenia and

depression. And yet, it still serves as an example of the broad-based efforts to

.biologize. American culture. For both political and scientific reasons — and

it is generally difficult to separate the two — everything from criminal

behavior to substance abuse to sexual orientation is seen today less as a

matter of choice than of genetic destiny. Even basic personality is proving out

to be much more of a genetic inheritance than had ever been previously

assumed. Almost every month, if not more often, there is a report of a new

gene for one trait or another. Such a significant realignment of the cultural

perception has numerous political and personal implications.

At the individual level, according to Herbert (1997), a belief in

the power of genes necessarily diminishes the potency of such personal

qualities as will, capacity to choose, and sense of responsibility for those

choices. The argument proposes that if one’s actions are determined by one’s

individual.s genes, he or she should not be considered accountable

for . . . whatever! It allows the alcoholic, for example, to act as a helpless

victim of biology rather than as a willful agent with independent behavioral

control. Genetic determinism can free victims and their families from

guilt–or lock them in their suffering. Therein lies the root of the nature vs.

nurture merry-go-round. Genetic determinism can have paradoxical

consequences at times, leading to disdain and exclusion for the disadvantaged

rather than sympathy and inclusion. Cultural critics are beginning to sort out

the unpredictable politics of biology, focusing on four traits: violence, mental

illness, alcoholism, and sexual orientation.

Herbert (1997) also adds that whatever is currently going on in the midst

of the bold new genetic discoveries being made, it’s clear that a very real

mistrust of genetic power and genetic applications is both misleading and

disconcerting, if not out-and-out frightening

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