Mind Over Matter

Nature vs. nurture is a concept that people have been reasoning on for ages. Is a person’s behavior based more on their personal choosing or the community they’ve been raised? Unlike mathematics, there is no right answer to this phenomenon. Humans have the freedom of thought and reason to contemplate whether nature or nurture plays the larger role based on their own lives and personal observations of others.

The nature of a person, or their actions based on their personal choosing, stems from their existence and how to naturally survive. Some relate this to the power of God in man, some relate it to the animal in man. These are two very big differences because spiritually, God dwelling in man means man is in control of their free will and how they react to their circumstances. Animalistically, ones may react by their first impulse and not see another way to go about their situations or conquer their needs and desires. Scientifically, if we take a baby human and a baby monkey and give them both the best environment imaginable, the child will be radically different from the monkey and these differences will be almost entirely due to genetics. The proponents of the nature side of the controversy would have us believe that the differences in human behavior are like the difference between human and monkey behavior, at less of an extreme. Each individual has a certain worth or dignity, merely by virtue of being human, being a rational moral agent responsible for actions.

On the other hand, there is no doubt that circumstances play a significant role in a person’s behavior. If we were to take identical twins and give one the best environment possible and put the other in a closet for eighteen years the differences would be profound, and caused totally by environmental differences. Thus the proponent of the nurture side of the controversy would have us believe human differences are like that of twins, at less of an extreme. When looking at ghettos compared to suburbs and what are the frequent occurrences of behavior in both communities, there are prominent differences to be considered. Due to lack of funds in ghetto communities, people are raised with “less” than the upper-class in the suburbs. This causes the poor to steal from the rich and each other, especially when it comes down to survival. When there is no food to eat the instinct to get food takes over. This can also cause people to come together and create stronger community as one unit, naturally when circumstances get rough people come together. While people with no needs, having food, clothes, and shelter in abundance, focus on their desires, creating less unity and more individualism.

Experiences are inevitable and they are what teach a person on the road of life. We are constantly learning and growing from situations that arise and circumstances we’ve been born into. Autonomy is the key principle in understanding human beings. As Aristotle professed “activity of the rational element”, it is thinking, deliberating, and deciding that make us human. While there is no one answer to this controversy, it can be said that human behavior is a product of both a matter of her/his own choosing as well the conditioning by the community in which he/she was raised.