The Nature Vs. Nurture Debate

For decades, scientists have been engaged in a debate as to what has the most significant impact on human development: biology or society. Are we more the product of our genes or of our environments?

The impact of biology cannot be denied. We are who we are because of our physical and physiological components and limitations. Our genes provide us with the basic building blocks of our personality, character, traits, and interests. It is our genes that give us hair color and skin color, that determines our I.Q., that offers us athletic or artistic abilities, and that furnishes us with social skills. They determine how tall we are, what we look like, how healthy we are, and how smart we are.
Without the genetic predispositions we have, we would not turn out to be the people we do. While it is true that I could change my hair color or use colored contact lenses to make my brown eyes look blue, those type of superficial changes do not change what is underneath, what is truly me. If I did not have a genetic predisposition to be the height I am, I could not find some other way to grow to be 5'7". There is nothing I could learn, nothing I could eat, no exercises I could do to make myself grow taller. I am how tall I am, and that is because of biology.

However, biology, as important as it is, is not everything. The environment in which someone is raised and lives can create potential or quash possibilities that genetics cannot control. Even though I am not able to change my genetic inclination to be 5'7", there are environmental factors that could cause my height to be different than what my genes had predetermined. Maybe my genes determined my height to be 5'9", but I was not able to reach that full height because of poor nutrition or disease. Environmental factors are a vital aspect of human development.

Take for example the very industrious actor/producer Michael Douglas. He is a smart, hard-working man and certainly would have found success in any field he chose to pursue. However, would he have been such a success in Hollywood were it not for his famous actor father? He grew up in a home where acting in Hollywood was the norm, where it was discussed at the dinner table, where it was valued and encouraged. Without those environmental aspects, Hollywood may not have seemed as viable a career choice as business, law, or medicine.

If genetics were the only reasons we become who we are, then children who are born male would always grow into men and those born female would always grow into women. Instead, there are men and women who feel that they are in the wrong bodies, and some even change their gender in order to "repair" the mistake that nature had caused. These men and women have certainly been greatly influenced by their environments to explore traits and behaviors generally attributed to the other sex. The fact that these people are often castigated by others in society and still choose the difficult road of being transsexuals or transgendered demonstrates how thoroughly biology has failed these individuals. If nature were the only determinant of who we are, then these individuals would not have the capacity of feeling they are different than who science tells them they should be.

The truth of the nature-nurture debate lies in the middle. We are all the products of both our genes and our environments. It is the combination and interaction of these two elements that really make us who we are.

Genetics are the basic building blocks that give us the possibilities and limitations of what we can become. But it is the environmental cues that determine how much of each trait we develop. Biology is like the basic ingredients of a cake-the flour, eggs, sugar, and baking soda. Environment is the cook and oven, the person who comes into the kitchen and combines the ingredients into a cake as well as the place where those ingredients are put to the test and given the chance to rise or fall.
The ingredients-our genes-give us everything we need to become who we are, but they limit us in that we can only work with what we have. We may be able to take the ingredients for the cake and make other things-cookies or bread or a soufflé-but we can't take those same ingredients and make a lasagna or fried chicken.

However, the ingredients are only ingredients. Without someone taking those ingredients and working with them to turn them into something, they are just a pile of flour, sugar, and eggs. It takes the right environment to take those ingredients and turn them into a cake. In order for those ingredients to come together just right, it takes a knowledgeable cook, the proper supplies, and a kitchen. The lack of any of these factors greatly hinders the development of genetics. Just as a cook couldn't bake the cake without the recipe, without a pan, or without an oven, children who have the genetic predisposition for high intelligence are unable to develop that without educated teachers, good books to read, and emotional support from parents and peers. It takes the combination of genetics and environment to create the best possible selves we have the capacity to be.