The Similarities and Differences of Nature versus Nurture in Regards to Plato and Aristotles Theories - Essay Example

Nature and nurture debate is a discussion that concerns the comparative significance of individuals’ innate qualities. Nature refers to the physical world and its contents. On the other hand, nurture refers to the total of milieu controls and conditions operating on an organism. The fundamentalism in this debate underpins the establishing or causing personal dissimilarities in physical and behavioral qualities. This debate has lasted numerous decades and it is believed to last longer due to the existing and emerging theories of explaining the human behaviorPlato believed that behavior knowledge was a result of innate factors.

Plato’s theory implied that all knowledge is present at birth and the only thing the milieu does is to remind humanity of the information they already knew.Aristotle believed that, when humans are born into the world, they are just blank slates, whose behavior and thoughts are due to experience, which is attributed to the environment. Aristotle’s theory explains that the environment is a fundamental element in the development of humans’ behavior. Considering Jeannette’s case in the “Glass Castle” the environment that surrounded her upbringing was harsh.

For instance, her father applies a sink or swim approach to teach her how to swim. Later we see Jeannette grows to a strong and outstanding woman who excel in academic and other areas of life. This is a true reflection of Plato’s theory that, the environment consists of influential forces that shape an individual’s behavior. The nature of Jeannette’s perseverance is immensely correlated to the harsh milieu of upbringing characterized poverty that she was she brought in.