A cursory glance at the title might make me seem a Neo-Nazi, but bear with me. After reviewing what I could recall from the past week, I decided Nature vs. Nurture would provide ample material to work with. My chain of thought began after the movie "The Boys From Brazil" was brought up. Raising the same person in many different settings to study the effects of environment on development is interesting and frightening to me at the same time. What makes a charismatic leader? A cold-blooded killer? A literary genius? One's nurturing probably is not all that's needed to produce one of the above, but it most likely plays a prominent role. The idea of actually cloning and observing is the frightening part. Research leads to results. Results lead to action. In the future will there be 'super-people' bred with controlled genes and environments? Will there be people reduced to products, engineered and designed like brand-name cars?
These thoughts lead elsewhere: how much of an impact should I consider my environment has on me? If I believed that my heredity sets my fate in stone then I might live my life in a very different manner than I do now. On the other hand, assuming that environment shapes every single aspect of "you" is also disconcerting, in that it removes most of the individuality that we often credit ourselves with. I suspect that the answer (as always) is a balance of the two.
Experiences shape us. I wholeheartedly believe in this. Genetics also shape us. I trust in science enough to believe this too. Will this apply to my life in the future? Of course. It has been applied, is being applied, and will be applied for every single second of my existence because every moment, however insignificant and trivial, is an experience in its own way. "The answer my friend, is blowin' in the wind." Peace.
These thoughts lead elsewhere: how much of an impact should I consider my environment has on me? If I believed that my heredity sets my fate in stone then I might live my life in a very different manner than I do now. On the other hand, assuming that environment shapes every single aspect of "you" is also disconcerting, in that it removes most of the individuality that we often credit ourselves with. I suspect that the answer (as always) is a balance of the two.
Experiences shape us. I wholeheartedly believe in this. Genetics also shape us. I trust in science enough to believe this too. Will this apply to my life in the future? Of course. It has been applied, is being applied, and will be applied for every single second of my existence because every moment, however insignificant and trivial, is an experience in its own way. "The answer my friend, is blowin' in the wind." Peace.
No comments:
Post a Comment