Nature vs Nurture
I don’t see these in conflict with one another. Neither stands alone. A person’s genetic structure (nature) may determine a few things, but it’s effects on people can – often is – modified by “nurture” – how they were raised, to what they were exposed, and experiences they had. Those “nurture” items are in turn modified by genetics – what blueprints the genes provided.
In fact, that’s a pretty good metaphor – the blueprints for a house do not necessarily determine how the house will turn out. Give the same set of blueprints to a dozen different construction companies, and each building will be different. As similar as they may appear, they will have differences – building materials, color choices, orientation, structural soundness. It matters, too, what time of year the house was built, under what weather conditions. Wet, icy, windy conditions will make a different house from hot, dry, windy conditions.
And so it is with people: we all start with the basic blueprints. In the growth and development of the embryo and fetus, environmental changes occur. By birth, some things are already set in motion for the rest of the child’s life. Then comes exposure to assorted living conditions, which shape the child further, based on those initial blueprints.
We are not the product of genetics alone. Nor are we products of nurture alone. Both contribute to our development.
