Nature vs. Nurture

Ivan Harden

Nature vs. Nurture

            In the world today it is often debated exactly what occurs because of nature and what is a result of nurture. Many psychologists have done experiment after experiment trying to determine clear lines and neat categories in which to place developmental differences and psychological abnormalities into. After all, who really knows if you have heart problems because of your hereditary genes? Who knows if you have a pre-disposition towards depressions because your great grandfather did, or whether you have ADHD because your parents coddled you? In the end it all comes down to facts and patterns.

            I once read of an experiment done on an African tribe that I feel deals a very powerful blow to people that believe in clear nature vs. nurture lines. The experiment consisted, as I said, of an African tribe that had never seen whites before or had any contact with modern peoples. The scientists that conducted the experiment took pictures of generic happy, sad, and angry faces. Then the scientists played different types of music from all over the world, and without exception these stone-age type people could easily determine the mood of the song. This is incredible, this shows that there must be some pre-set, some understanding that everyone has at birth. Music is like a language that you can automatically understand at birth, although you must learn to speak it.

            With this revolutionary idea comes the world shattering thought that, if music really is genetic and therefore nature, to an extent, then how many other things seemingly nature are really nurture? What is culture? Does growing up in a certain area around different people give you certain attributes and ideals? Or are the ideals and attributes genetic and evolving and changing as society does? But then on second thought look at how different cultures can be. On one side of the world we bury our dead, in Greece they cremate them, and the Callatians eat the dead! When we look at these different things we think “oh how odd and off it is to eat the dead” but think of how odd they think it is to bury the dead. The gaps in different societies are tremendous, and it’s difficult to trace their roots and find the reason we are the way we are.

            Nature vs. Nurture is one of those unanswerable enigmas that will haunt the human race forever. Depending on perception one could see things in completely different lights, and simply the act of observation could effect if it is nature or nurture.