Nature vs. Nurture



Nature vs. Nurture

Introduction

The debate on nature vs. nurture is one of the oldest in the history of psychology. This issue talks about the difference in the person's nature that is the characteristics with which the person was born, and the characteristics that the person acquires as a consequence of his exposure to external environment and various circumstances. It is beyond debate that we change with the changes in the environment (Meaney, 2004). It affects out approach and our way of thinking. The debate in this issue is the confusion that which of the personality characteristics in the person are innate and which one are developed.

History of this issue

The conflict emerged when Descartes and Plato, two of the most well-known philosophers in the history of mankind suggested, that man is born with certain personality characteristics. These are innate or inborn characteristics in the person. On the other hand, John Locke gave the concept of I, which means that a person is born with a blank mind. He learns everything from his environment and there is no such thing as innate personality.

The term was coined by Francis Galton. He was an English Victorian. He basically coined the term in the context of environment and heredity. Later came the concept of tabula rasa which means that all of the person's learning come from his environment. This is a very important concept in that over a period of time, the concept has been used in many debates. For instance, initially it was used only to understand the concept in the context of social development. Then it was used to discuss the mental state of mind of the homosexuals and LGTB group (Buss, 2011).

Most essential characteristics of this issue

Historic Characteristics

The view on the development of a human has evolved over ...