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The Views Of Human Nature : The Nature Of Nature

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For centuries, people have debated whether the personalities of humans are natural and we are born with them or personalities develop from the ways we are nurtured and raised in different environments. In ancient Greece, Plato believed that our personalities and our intelligence are hereditary, which supports the nature side of this debate. Conversely, Aristotle claimed that the mind is blank at birth and grows from experience (Myers 9). Each side believes that their side is the only answer, but, in reality, both play a role in the development of someone’s personality. By looking at the different perspectives of psychology, I can support my claims about how I obtained certain aspects of my personality. The nature side of the debate believes that our genes and other biological factors are the sole influencers of your personalities. They claim that everything we are as adults is with us as children (McLeod). Multiple studies have been done on pairs of twins, who had been separated at birth. Many revealed that genetics are important in some personality traits and other characteristics, such as sexual orientation. One study revealed that the environment in which they are raised had very little impact on their personality development, but only if they were raised in the same environment (“Nature vs. Nurture”). The evolutionary and biological perspectives support this side, which state that natural selection can lead to the promotion of some genes or traits and that certain

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