Relationship between life experiences and mind development - Essay Example

Relationship between life experiences and mind development Tabula rasa is a metaphor developed by philosopher John Locke refers to the state of mind being developed and altered by experiences. Philosopher John Locke asserts that at birth and in infancy, the mind is very passive that is a clean slate, tabula rasa, whereby the life experiences of the individual develop the mind. Manipulation of the mother during pregnancy, through drugs and alcohol do not affect the state of the mind. Early in its life infant’s mind is not fully developed, even as a child the infant is still dependent on someone this may be the mother, father, sister, brother or any adult responsible for the child (Sanga 9). Locke’s theory is therefore true because a child’s mind is yet to be manipulated by anything, thus tabula rasa. It is also true that, the life experiences a child faces while growing up will determine the character and personality of the child. Education is considered to have a major influence on the mind of a child. Additionally, different types of people also assist to influence the personal nature of a person (Cohen 25). The experiences one goes through, because of the impact of his educational process, social relationships with different people, and the interaction of the individual with the environments determine the scene of his life, hence establishing individuality (Sanga 13). Experiences do not only include events that may take place, but also anything, that arouses emotions or stimulate a feeling of reaction in a person. Experiences can vary from real events or physically involving deeds, to unresponsive objects or solid details, and even other people. As long as occurrence results a person to question, assess or come to some sought of conclusion about it, and he thus intentionally or subconsciously obligates it to memory it is totally an experience (Gintis 377). Therefore experience can be termed as anything that takes place to a person; this includes anything that is seen, felt or lived through. All the occurrences good or bad add up to a person’s experiences called the “frame of references”. Therefore, a person who is influenced and dependent on other people is not considered responsible until the individual becomes knowledgeable which is experience when an individual enters into the system of education (Cohen 31). To educate can also be defined as to instruct or guide someone both mentally and morally. In time, children get older and engage in the system of education. A number of a child’s experiences will take place in school, or occur because of being in school. Children normally face diverse challenges in school thus determining their character. Schools are accountable for instigating self-responsibility (Reuben 34). For instance, students as they are continually faced with challenges relating to themselves in the world will experience the challenge and they would like to react on those challenges. Therefore, they tend to go deeper in thinking to formulate ways to tackle the challenges. The reaction to the new challenges, followed by new comprehension results to students regarding themselves as committed. Educational experiences therefore are responsible for shaping the individual’s future character. Social relationships or the people one interacts with in life also assist in shaping the individual. Both positive and negative experiences as a consequence of the impact of diverse interactions or relationships can determine whether the individual will become a good or a bad person, timid or bold, confident or different or even successful or not. The question as to what, how, and why different people influence and shape a child’s intellect is still difficult to answer. This is because the minds of any two children are always different and cannot be obsolete. This is because the difference in character between individuals gives diverse role models. Joyce carol Oates author of “where are you going, Where have you been?” denotes a story about a 15 years old Connie who was raised by an irresponsible mother and who had a great impact on Connie’s future life. Connie’s mother was a beautiful woman who gave priority to her beauty and appearance. Connie seeing the manners of her mother grew up priotizing beauty and looks like her mother. However, the mother scolds Connie claiming that she has no future because all Connie thinks is her beauty. The mother prefers Connie’s sister who is a good student in school. The mother forgot that she raised Connie by herself and that she adopted her past behavior. Thus, different kinds of people contribute differently to a person’s behavior (Cohen 45). The environments with which a person lives also contribute in shaping a person’s personality. The impact of a child’s environmental surroundings cannot assist, but determine a person’s social status or class. For example, wealthy and high-class individuals are considered to be less appreciative of things. They do not have to struggle to get anything; things are normally at their disposal. This is in huge contrast with individuals living in low and middle class areas who are more appreciative of things, because they work hard to achieve them. This in the end will manipulate the behavior of the child (Gintis 378). The child will grow up either to become an appreciative person or will grow to become an unappreciative individual. Therefore, diverse environments are accountable for shaping the personality of a child. Tabula rasa cannot be entirely taken to mean that the personality of an individual is influenced by life experiences. Some behavior or traits are hereditary. A number of a person’s character and mannerisms are as a result of heredity. Examples of genetically developed traits are physiological, that is are related to the body. The traits include; “diabetes, eye color and ear lobe detachment”. The environment has no involvement in the development of hereditary traits. Additionally, genes also determine whether a child becomes bright, and creative in future. Some behaviors are hereditary from one generation to another. Therefore, life experiences through social interactions, environment and role models do not necessarily shape the personality of an individual. Individuals adopt some traits from their forefathers, for instance, if a child is born in a family dominated by criminals the child is likely to become a criminal even though the child may be raised in a criminal free environment (Subhani & Osman 1173). Therefore, both the environment and genes contribute in the character and development of a person’s personality. For example, when it comes to religion when a child is growing up, the child tends to follow the religion introduced to it by the parents. Nonetheless, as the child matures, the child gets the freedom and power to change to other religions with regard to the influence the child gets from the environment. Religion influence is similar to language. A child tends to adopt the language of the parents once born. However, the child can change when exposed to other languages. Therefore, both genes and environment affect the behavior and character of an individual. Metaphors of memory are just metaphors capturing some, but not all aspects of the memory. A child’s character is determined through genes, environment raised in, social interaction and education. Therefore, a child character is not entirely influenced by life experiences, but genes and hereditary traits also affect in determining the personality of a person. Thus, tabula rasa can be considered to be influential in developing a person’s character, but not entirely, other factors also determine the upbringing of a child. Work cited Cohen, Daniel. Arguments and Metaphors in Philosophy. Dallas: Univ. Press of America, 2008. Print. Gintis, Herbert. Moral Sense and Material Interests. Social Research. 73 (2), 377-404. 2006. Reuben, Shelly. Tabula Rasa. Orlando, Fla: Harcourt, 2010. Print. Sanga, Glauco. Nature Knowledge: Ethnoscience, Cognition, and Utility. New York: Berghahn Books, 2009. Print. Subhani, Muhammad Imtiaz & Osman, Karachiamber. Human mind is a tabula rasa. Interdisciplinary Journal of Contemporary Research in Business. 3 (3), 1173-1176. 2011. Read More