Critical Thinking 1 - Essay Example

What does research (both from the video) suggest about the role of nature and nurture in shaping human behavior?  Nature and our genetic predisposition play a significant role of determining whether new born human beings will live happily and successfully in the future. Because superior genes like having a genetic make-up that is less prone to intelligence or superior intelligence will have a greater probability to live happily and successfully. Nurturance is a choice made by humans, especially parents, on how to shape they will take care of the baby as he/she develops into an adult.

This factors in the environment, capacity and the choices made for the baby. 2-Should parents be given the opportunity to choose the specific physical and psychological characteristics of their children? Why or why not?  Parents should not be given the opportunity to choose the specific physical and psychological characteristic of their children as this prerogative will have serious set-backs when abused. First, it may be used for trivial matters like the purpose of aesthetics like being taller which was not present in the genes of both parents.

Second, it will inadvertently alter the human species as it will be altering the genetic blueprints of babies which will be passed on to untold succeeding generations which were not there to begin with. Lastly, it would furtherly polarized society. As genetic engineering can remove the genes that causes diseases, such privilege will only be made available to those who can afford it while the rest of society, which is majority, will be furtherly degraded as prone to disease. Other privileges and advantage in life which is enhanced by superior genes will only be confined to those who have.

Everybody should have an equal chance in life in a genetic level and parents cannot act like God even if they mean the best for their children. 3-What, if any, specific guidelines or limits do you think should be placed on parents’ capacity to design their own babies? Should it be inevitable, government should regulate the parent’s capacity to design their own babies and should be limited only to those disease prevention genetic re-engineering. Say for example, that both parents has a genetic predisposition to have cancer, government must ensure that altering the genes of their babies should only be limited to removing that genes that causes cancer.