Human nature: an enduring debate

Have you ever wondered what makes us, people, behave in our own, unique
ways? Is this down to our genes or to the enviornment we have been raised in ?
Well, this well-known debate has been a thing since the Elizabethan period in
England: nature versus nurture.

Hearing the title of this, many people would wonder if there is a common
language, one that everyone in this world speaks. Well, the answer is no, but
Mandarin should be recognized for getting quite close. But this is not what I am
here to talk to you about today. I want to talk about nature as human nature and
language as what makes individuals who they are.

Basically this debate is between the people who think that human behaviour
is determined by genes and the ones who think the enviornment they are raised
in is the cause. So if the former are correct, we differ by nature and so each speak
our own language from the start. If, on the other hand, the latter are right, then
human nature is a common language at birth and our differences are explained
instead by our upbringing.

Most people believe, myself included, that nature and nurture are
complementary, both mattering in a person’s behaviour. This is probably the state
in which this debate will remain in the next decade , but some facts make, in my
view, one of the two have the edge.

On the one hand, it is scientifically proven that parents’, grandparents’ genes

are transmitted to a child when born, so for example if the dad has a bad temper,
the child is likely to be quick-tempered, too. But, on the other hand, in the same
scenario, being raised by someone who has problems staying calm, make a kid
believe that this kind of behaviour is right and make him act the same, until he or
she gets used to being like this.

Furthermore, it is a fact that people are influenced by other factors, besides

family. After the first six-seven years of a child’s life, he becomes involved in more
and more groups of people with similar interests : school, sports groups, art
groups and many more, and is almost certain to produce changes in the
behaviour he or she had when spending most time in the family. And, all in all,
this is what nurture is all about: the influence in the first 15-18 years of one’s life,
which definitely has the greatest impact on a person’s behaviour.

So, if nurture has such a tremendous impact, isn’t it safe to say that the way
we behave is very little influenced by our nature? Isn’t nature just a common
language and what makes us unique is what we’ve been exposed to and taught
throughout our formative years? In my opinion, yes, I believe that there isn’t
much difference in people’s behaviour in the early stages of life, but, slowly,
humans’ change, they are influenced by people they meet and end up having a
unique way of being.

To conclude, our nature is common, we are on the same page when we are
born, but as the years pass, we change and become our own unique selves.
Behavioural psychologist John B. Watson theorizes that we can be trained to do
anything, regardless of our backgrounds. I agree. We all speak the same language
and who we become is not bound by our genes.