Discuss the nature-nurture debate in relation to the physical development of an individual.

The nurture side of the debate recognises that biological factors do play an important part in development; however it is believed that the environment that an individual grows up in is more important. The environment is referred to as the things that make up our world, our experiences, surroundings, what we eat, the type of people we interact with, what we hear, how others treat us etc. It is said that experiences are  onto the mind, which is essentially a ‘blank slate’. We have knowledge of the world because we learn from experiences. Prior to experience, the human mind is a void of all characters, without any ideas. Babies gain knowledge about objects and develop intellectually from their experiences with their parent/carer. If young children are deprived of a nurturing environment, such as in the case of an alcoholic or abusive parent/carer, their development may become impaired through neglect and abuse by caregivers. Reality is constructed from what we know and what we value as important from experiences occurring at a very early age.

People have different views and opinions, on the nature-nurture debate. Both opinions are known as ‘determinist’ Determinism is the belief that your future is fixed or determined either by what you have genetically inherited or by your social environment and experience. The alternative to determinism is the belief that people can take control of their own lives through the choices they make. This has sometimes been known as the ‘free will’ viewpoint. Some people think that everything is fixed by nature or by nurture, or that everything is a matter of choice. However, most people understand that the human life course involves an interaction of nature, nurture and the decisions and choices that people make.

Although development may be guided by genetics, genetics cannot operate without an environment. A child who is born deaf will not start to speak a language. Instead the child might learn to sign using a sign language, such as British sign language, if people in the child’s environment use this system. The environment always interacts with a person’s genetics including during maturational processes. Genes cannot operate without an environment. There are simply too many ‘facts’ on both sides of the argument which are inconsistent with a totally one sided view. So instead of asking whether an individual’s development is down to nature or nurture the question should be reformulated as to ‘How much?’

Nature and nurture are both important influences to a person as they are developing their traits. Our genes are important because what we have genetically inherited is essentially the basis of what kind of person we are, but the environment we are brought up in can alter and develop a person even more. I do believe that nurture has a larger effect on an individual than nature, because nurture is the characteristic builder that we gain as we grow up. It is what defines our nature and makes us who we are; nurture cultivates our nature, and it is the main regulator of our being.