Essay on nature – [500 words]

500 words essay on nature

Nature is defined as the intellect of an individual based upon the pre-wiring of the genetics inherited by parents and grandparents and many other biological factors. Nurture means that the intellect of an individual is based upon the type of upbringing he gets and the atmosphere he lives. The argument of whether nature influences an individual more or nurture has been going on for centuries with both sides proving some extremely detailed arguments. Let’s explore the strengths and weaknesses of both nature and nurture, and discuss the implications of the ongoing debate.

Nature Influence

Originally, it was believed that genetics was the core of men’s intellect and that if parents or a parent is smart then the chances of their offspring being smart are high. Present studies have shown that genetics do take part in shaping the intellect of a person. Personalities are often also largely influenced by genetics.

The research that supports the nature theory most is Twins Research. Twin Research shows that identical twins who share the same genetic makeup are most likely to share their intellectual level and their characteristic or personality. Fraternal twins on the other hand do not share the same genetic makeup and are shown to have different genders and differ in their general characteristics.

The argument of children inheriting diseases from their parents is also another strong argument that supports the nature influence theory. The most common diseases that are transferred through generations are schizophrenia or autism etc. These show that diseases have a strong genetic component and that genetics play an extremely important role in determining the person’s susceptibility to certain diseases and disorders transferring through his generation.

Nurture Influence

Nurture influence is also debated and supported by quite strong arguments. Environmental and societal attributes play an important role in shaping the general consensus of a person’s personality. Past traumatic events like child abuse or negligence in childhood also shape the personality. Traumas like these can greatly affect the suicidal ideation of a person. Societal factors such as racism and poverty also negatively affect a person’s mental health.

Nurture influence is also supported by the argument that environmental attributes also play a very significant role in determining a person’s personality and characteristics. A person born in poverty will inversely affect the person’s educational attainability. The person will also be more likely to show criminalistics behavior than the person who grew up in an affluent environment.

Conclusion

It is generally pretty hard to say which of these affects nature or nurture. Many of the scholars of the present time tend to take a middle road and say that both nature and nurture play an interactive role in determining the personality of a person. A person with obesity genetics in his genetics while having parents who practice strict dieting habits may tend to grow to be fat while a person who eats a lot of junk food might remain thin. At the end of the day, in the era of political correctness, it is pretty hard to say whether males are more smarter than women just because there are far more male scientists or that there will be more Afro-Americans criminals than Caucasians simply because there are more Negros in jail.