Social and Environmental Factors as Determinants of a Persons Basic Nature - Essay Example

Social and Environmental Factors as Determinants of a Person’s Basic Nature Nature versus nurture are the s of ongoing debates as to whether a person’s behavior and basic nature is determined by inherited or learnt factors. Nature refers to all the evolutionary factors that have shaped the genetics that we have inherited from our parents and ancestors. These factors are categorized under biological and genetic factors. Nurture refers to all things that have influenced our basic nature since we were conceived and these factors are external and hence categorized under social and environmental factors. There are also believers of spiritual beliefs as factors that most determine a person’s basic nature. However, the purpose of this essay is not to support any of the biological, genetic, social, environmental, spiritual factors as the sole determinant behind a person’s basic nature but to demonstrate that despite the influence of all the above factors ,social and environmental factors are the major causes behinds a person’s basic nature. This will be illustrated through various examples where social and environmental factors influence a person’s basic nature more than their biological traits and spiritual beliefs. Social Part of our intelligence is determined by our genetics but, it is our upbringing that determines whether the genetic information inherited is going to be developed into actual intelligence. This means that our environment and the stimulation it offers will then be more influential in who we become than the genetics we inherited. For example, some people come from families that have genetics that give them a great advantage in developing their musical intelligence. However, this does not mean that a child born into such a family automatically develops that potential but rather that he has a genetic possibility to excel in those areas. If the child is not exposed to musical instruments or encouraged to pursue music he may never become a musician despite the potential to become one. In reference to Chomsky’s theory on language acquisition, VanPatten and Benati agree that language acquired through an innate LAD (language acquisition device) (VanPatten 101). This is to mean that the ability to learn a language is biologically inherited; however, children are unable to inherit the language spoken by their parents. For example, a child born to English parents but adopted and raised by French parents will end up speaking French instead of English. According to Steven Pinker, this is due to the fact that, cognitive powers are awakened only when we have experience on what we need to work on. Therefore, the child raised in a French speaking society will use their LAD to learn French, to communicate with the members of that society while the potential to learn English will remain unexploited, as it is not a requirement to communicate in a francophone environment. Anorexia, which is an eating disorder that causes people to obsess about their weight and what they eat, has been attributed to genetics. First-degree relatives have a degree of inheriting anorexia but the chances of one being anorexic are higher when they are influenced by the societal demands. In today’s world, anorexia is caused by pressure in the Western society to conform to an idealized notion of beauty. In this notion, less is more and women who weigh less and are slim are considered beautiful. This notion is further entrenched by the entertainment world where most female actors are discriminated based on their weight and magazines constantly portray slim women as beautiful and desirable. This then creates pressure on women to lose weight by denying themselves what is considered fattening through unconventional means leading to anorexia. However in Africa where women are applauded for being plus size there are rare cases of anorexia and the few ones are attributed to biological conditions rather than social pressures. Political ideology Ideology refers to “A set of beliefs about the proper order of society and how it can be achieved”. Conservatives will want to preserve the order while liberals will want to change it. The question then lies whether this is a genetic or social influence and whether these political traits are inherited or are they influenced by the societies we are born into. The political affiliation of an individual has little to do with innate or inherited traits but more with how they have been raised to respond to issues such as security, progressive taxation, nuclear power and foreign aid. To say that a trait is innate only means that it was organized in advance experience by genetics but this only the first draft which will then be revised by childhood and adulthood experiences all of which are external factors (Henderson 65). A finding published in The Journal of Politics last October showed differences in the genes of conservatives and liberals in regards to their reaction towards threat, pleasure when exposed to novelty, change and new experiences. However, whether one grows up to be a conservative or liberal depends on what perception they have acquired of various issues in their lives. For example, conservatives and liberals have different views concerning the entitlement of economic gains. Conservatives oppose progressive taxation, as they perceive it as being robbed of what they have worked hard to acquire. Liberals on the other hand support it as they view the needy to be most deserving of economic gains based on their impoverished economic status. To the conservatives progressive taxation is robbery of the rich but to the liberals it is aid to the poor. Therefore, genes do not determine the political ideologies an individual subscribes to but by the attitudes, they have acquired towards various issues and their logic in trying to address those issues (Henderson 66). Spiritual beliefs Whether one is a Muslim, Hindu or Christian has little to do with inherited traits but everything to do with the society they are born into. Religion tends to determine a significant part of an individual’s basic nature. Othmer’s main character in his text Holy Water is spiritually empty, as throughout the text, very little seems to unfold in a favorable manner. In fact, the description given was, “…he might as well be dead” (Othmer 14). For example, most atheists are tolerant of people belonging to diverse backgrounds unlike most individuals belonging to a specific religion. Religions comprise of members who share common beliefs and values about life and each religion declares itself superior to the rest and further prescribes a moral and spiritual code for its followers. The underlying perception of all religious doctrines is that members are part of a superior order while concurrently regarding non-members who do not share common beliefs and values as inferior, only conversion can redeem them. Consequentially, staunch believers are therefore intolerant to individuals outside their religion and are likely to engage in extremist acts with the pretext of cleansing the inferior and impure. For example, the opposition of Muslims against non-believers has been used as a pretext for violence against non-Muslims. Spiritual belief or belonging to a particular religion is also an explanation why certain individuals are optimistic in nature in while others are not though they share the same challenges. Mack, the main character in The Shack illustrates this whereby his resilience when faced with adversity (Young 114). Conclusion In conclusion, man inherits traits that are of low to medium to high hereditability such as religion, weight and eye color respectively. However, once an individual is exposed to the society and the environment around it, most of these traits such as weight and personality are influenced mostly not by biological and spiritual factors but largely by social and environmental factors. The inherited traits can be said to be significant in that they form the first draft of personality but the final draft, which is a person’s basic and overall nature, is because of exposure and reaction to factors in the society and the external environment at large. Works Cited Young, William P. The Shack. USA: Windblown Media, 2007. Print. Henderson, Smith. The Fourth of July. Ecco,2014. Print. Othmer, James P. Holy Water. Tantor Media, 2010. Print. VanPatten, Bill; Benati, Alesandro G. Key Terms in Second Language Acquisition. Continuum, 2010. Print. Read More