The Fundamental Arguments Of Nature Versus Nurture Philosophy Essay

The Fundamental Arguments Of Nature Versus Nurture Philosophy Essay Nature is generally considered the part of a person that is a genetic inheritance, the fundamental identity that determines the choices someone will make. Nurture is the environmental factor to someones development: his or her socioeconomic standing, privileges, disadvantages, opportunity, access, etc. The blank slate, or tabula rasa, theory presented by John Locke during the 17th century states that everyone is born with nothing and is shaped by his or her environment; in other words, Lockes theory supports the nurture side of the nature versus nurture debate. On the other hand, ones genetic disposition to intelligence determines how one will interact with the environment. These two sides propose that they each hold the ultimate verdict to a persons personality and all of the psychological aspects that go along with it. Of course, both the idea of nature and the idea of nurture contribute to the human psyche but they do so at varying degrees in each individual: that is to say, one m ay feel the effects of nature more persistently than the effects of nurture and vice versa. Because of the inconsistent nature of clinical psychology, there is no absolute value for ones percentage of influence being that of nature or nurture but there are instances in which there is no denying that each theory plays a role in human development. A study of leadership suggested that varying degrees of socioeconomic status, perceived parental support, and perceived conflict support determined how much genetic or environmental influence affected someones leadership position; these findings are consistent with the conceptual argument proposing that the presence of adversity and conflict allows for a greater influence of genetic differences in capabilities related to leadership (Zhang et al.). That is to say, depending on the environmental stresses involved, the genetic aspect of the debate took more or less control. A study dealing with low-income mothers perception of their childrens obesity revealed that most of the mothers believed that because of their childrens genetic heritage, no matter what diet, the children could not lose weight; on the other hand, the mothers, with equal force, blamed themselves and/ or other environmental factors on their childrens weight problems (Hughes et al.). Despite the fact that the mothers fi rst argument logically disproves their second argument, the mothers have a vested interest in both aspects of the nature versus nurture debate. They are very unsure as to what degree they have made mistakes and to what degree genetics has influenced their childrens weights. The science is not all there but, for now, it is safe to assume that both sides of the debate carry different percentages of the weight. We all know of cases of people brought up in horrendous circumstances who somehow transcend these to display compassion and tendernessà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Conversely, people brought up in seemingly balanced households may be capable of the most horrific crimes (Gaba). Without delving too deeply into clinical psychology, Gaba has made a sizable case for the nature aspect of the debate. Oprah Winfrey stands to be a great example of the rags to riches fable. She was not only a poor, black Mississippian but she had also been sexually abused in addition to getting into trouble as a teen (Walker). Oprah is now one of the most prominent figures in todays society, easily reaching the millions, if not billions, with her successful television and business career. In his autobiography, Stephen Fry describes his stealing compulsion despite coming from an upper-middle class family. At boarding school he would take money from other students even though his parents set up a deal with a local shop owner where Stephen could take as much money as he liked (Fry). His environment provided him with non-thieved money yet Frys nature caused him to develop kleptomania. Psychological studies veer off into the impact of environment. The increasing recognition of genetic propensity to mental health disorder suggests that the advent of genetic therapies in the not-too-distant future may eventually provide alternative biological means of treatment (McVicar, Clancy). In other words, because mental health is a part of the nature piece of the debate, the drugs used to facilitate the mental illness are the environmental aspect. In this case, nurture controls nature. The relationship between an individual and his or her environment is a cause towards that persons mental stability and there are many instances of environmental influences on physical as well as psychological health (McVicar, Clancy). On the other hand, some environments bring forth mental instability for some people. Homelessness tends to wreak havoc on the mind and may bring about a psychological disorder that could have been at bay under a different environment. Mental illness is a source of complication for the nature versus nurture debate because certain peoples genetic dispositions will cause them to develop psychological disorders no matter what the circumstance while others experience trauma which causes them to develop mental disorders while still others inherit genetics that will see them through any difficult episode. There was a study that addressed the environmental and genetic impacts on alcohol, cannabis, and nicotine dependency: the control was Vietnam-era twins from the United States and the researchers concluded that alcohol and nicotine dependency were based primarily on genetic factors but that cannabis dependency was a mixture of genetic and environmental influence (Xian et al.) The contributors of this study fully recognized that their findings do not cross over to different cultures or different time periods within the history of the United States. They do, however, mention that they had a large sample that was pretty much consistent throughout their observations. This simply shows that human science and understanding of the mind is so very complex that it will take an indefinite amount of time to fully understand the human condition on a scientific level. On the issue of drug abuse, the government likes to bombard the television with antidrug campaigns that endorse the environmental influence as the main perpetrator in the case of evil drug use. Conversely, alcohol advertisements are out there on full display, usually showing that drinking is a very natural state of socialization. The study of nicotine, alcohol, and cannabis dependency would support alcohol and discourage the use of drugs. If drugs are an environmental cause, they can therefore be more easily combated because ones environment is more easily controlled than ones genetic inheritance. If drinking and smoking, i.e. nicotine use, are genetically controlled, they are much more difficult to wane out of society. Those in favor of the legalization of marijuana, or, at the very least, comedians, like to argue that drug use is generally less harmful to other people because alcohol is major factor of death by car. Both alcohol and drug abuse are harmful to the individual, most ca n agree to that, but if drug abuse is, indeed, less harmful to the outside world, alcohol is the more harmful of the two substances. Here is the problem with the nature versus nurture debate: if humans are genetically predisposed to like alcohol but they are environmentally enticed to take pleasure in drugs, which is the lesser of two evils? Nature cannot be controlled; people are stuck with the hereditary cards they have been dealt. On the same note, nurture is around at all times, it will have an influence no matter what the case. People who are introverts will stay introverts if they keep to their cabins millions of miles away from human contact. If some introverts are introduced into society at as quiet intellectuals, some will choose to stay, some will choose to go. There are two different paths and which path one will take is dependent on ones emotions which are directly connected to genetics. This argument likes to runs circles around itself until there is no telling which wa y is up. Environment pressure cannot be overlooked simply because genetic bias is the basic groundwork for ones behavior. Environmental experiences come into contact with, and influence individualsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ some individuals may possess genetic risk and protective factors that exacerbate, or partially insulate them from, the effect of negative environmental experiences (Petrill). The key word here is experience. At the first touch of experience, ones genetic impulses take control. Babies do not automatically latch on to their mothers breast for milk but through genetic imperative and experience do they become more accustomed to their environment and learn different techniques by which they may derive their food. Some would argue that music is a genetic inheritance but because of time and effort involved in mastering scales, finger patterns, rhythmic beats, and all of the other skills required to be a master of music, the environmental concept of experience definitely outweighs the geneti c basis for music inheritance. It takes roughly 10,000 hours, or 10 years, to truly be an expert in any given field (Gladwell). Wisdom is the fundamental basis for knowledge. Young people who endlessly fill their heads with historical, scientific, philosophical, theological, and other types of knowledge do not have the experience to back up their findings whereas the older someone ages, the more likelihood there is that his or her wisdom will be deemed more valid simply because he or she possesses more experience. Masters teach pupils for a reason; there will be a day when the student usurps the master but that is because the student has enough experience to do so. Reinforcement theory is the process of shaping behavior by controlling the consequences of the behavior (Cengage). Instead of using physical punishment as a form of reinforcement, parents will try to encourage their children to stop throwing large jars of liquid pickles at the local grocery store in return for an ice cream sandwich. The child is genetically predisposed to throwing a temper tantrum, looks around his environment, sees jars of pickles, and throws them to the ground screaming in sordid agony about not being able to finish watching his favorite television show three times over that day. The mother then introduces another environmental factor, in this case the ice cream bar, to stop the effects of the double-teaming of the effects of nature and nurture. She is unable to control his demented wailing and so chooses to try even further reinforcement therapy by offering a life-time supply of ice cream for the next seven days. He accepts because now the environmental stimulus h e is now receiving is stronger than his genetic malfunction earlier that minute. This just goes to show that for each individual, that nature versus nurture debate is extraordinarily inconsistent within the span of a human life but also inconsistent within just a few seconds. There is no scientific way to determine how much influence nature or nurture has within one human mind but there is evidence to suggest that both exist in their metamorphic forms.

Poetry Is Key Essay

I interview Amani because she is a teenager guided by mentorship. She revealed to me how being mentored by positive, loving, and caring people has changed who she is as a person. She said â€Å"I see a big change in myself. It’s like my whole life I’ve been so angry and upset, and it was all because I was being misguided and I didn’t have the chance to become who I am now. † This interview helped me because It kind of showed me what type of response I should be getting from the kids in my program. It is simply a calibration of how the kids that decide to participate in my mentorship program should react. Frohman, Denice. â€Å"Denice Frohman – â€Å"Gangsta Poetry†Ã¢â‚¬  YouTube. YouTube, 16 June 2009. Web. 05 Dec. 2013. This video is a video of a youth poetry mentor for PYPM (Philadelphia Youth Poetry Movement) who also participated in the Unliter Us Campaign. In this poem she speaks about differ writing tools (metaphors, similes, personification, etc) and different types of poems (haiku, slam, etc). She also talks about motivating the youth to get involved in poetry and imagination. This poem will help me because It is not only an introduction to different types of poetry and all types of writing tools but it’s in a cool poem that, to me, will make the kids want to know more and be less reluctant to participate in my program. Howard, Zora. â€Å"Zora Howard Mama (lyrics). † YouTube. YouTube, 04 Mar. 2011. Web. 01 Feb. 2013. This is a video by a youth slam poet alumni named Zora Howard who is now on a traveling adult poetry group called Strivers Row. This video is of a poem she performed. The poem is in letter form so it starts out saying, â€Å"Dear Son,†. Evidently, she is talking to her son in the letter. Her son is in the army and she’s writing him on his birthday just reminiscing about all the things they used to talk about and do before he was drafted into the army. This poem will help me because performance wasn’t at a competition so the tension is low and she’s just releasing. Although, from my knowledge, the poem is just not real fact for her, it still tells a story in it. It will show the kids how to turn a poem from a regular free  form poem into a letter or a story. James, Cliche M. â€Å"Who Need’s Mentorship. † Personal interview. 27 Jan. 2013. I interview the mom of a boy who had never had any form of mentorship to ask her if she thought that mentorship was important and who did she think that it was for. She said that she thinks that it is a difference between â€Å"needing† mentorship and â€Å"wanting† it. She feels as though kids who going down the wrong road in life or kids who just have pain in there life that is hard to let go of should have mentorship. This interview helped me with my research because it, for the most part, proved to me that I made the right choice in targeting kids who have some pain in them, kids that practically have nothing to look forward to because of the situation that their parents are in. James, Nasir. â€Å"The Importance of Mentorship. † Personal interview. 27 Jan. 2013. I interview my nephew, a 15 year old boy who has had mentorship every super since he was 12. I asked him what the importance of mentorship was. At first he was a little reluctant because he though that he didn’t get much out of it but when I began to ask him other questions to break it down. Questions like was there anything about his personality that changed because of the interaction with someone who you could put your trust in and things like that. He ultimately said that after 3 years of being in contact with his mentors, he has seen a difference in who he is and that being with them, he now knows what kind of man he wants to be. He also said that if he didn’t have mentors, he would still have become a good person it would have taken a bit longer. This interview was important because I wanted to know how younger teens felt about mentorship because if they didn’t care, then there would be no purpose of me doing it in the long run because it wouldn’t have changed anything. Lissaint / Strivers Row, Carvens. â€Å"†Praise† by Carvens Lissaint. † YouTube. YouTube, 02 Feb. 2011. Web. 01 Feb. 2013. This is another video of a youth poet alumni from New York city. He is another member of the poetry group called strivers row and in his younger years, he was on the NYC poetry team that went to the nation wide poetry competition BNV (Brave New Voices) which  premiered on HBO in 2006. This poem is about poetry and every sense that plays a part in writing and speaking poetry. I think that this will help me because I know that a lot of people have a single story about poetry. A lot of people don’t really know what it cane be and in this poem, the poet Carvens Lissaint, touches in on all of that . Mans, Jasmine. â€Å"Michelle Obama by Jasmine Mans. † YouTube. YouTube, 25 Oct. 2010. Web. 01 Feb. 2013. This is a video of yet another strivers row poet. Jasmine Mans was on the NYC team in 2006. This is a video of a poem she recorded called Michelle Obama. This poem is about how first lady Michelle Obama inspires young black women to be great and do great things. It tells them that because she did it, that they can. I think that this will be a good video to use in my program because when I visited the shelter, there was a significant number of girls and I think that showing them this will help them find confidence. Perrin, Brianna. â€Å"The Importance of Mentorship. † Personal interview. 30 Jan. 2013. I interview a senior named Brianna Perrin about her experience with mentorship and community service to get a better understanding of how she felt about it afterward. I also got a chance to find out what she took from the experience as a person who had been mentored and decided to pass it on. I think that this interview was very helpful and very successful. It gave me a perspective of a person who had the same urge as I had. She expressed to me that to her it was more than just helping others and I feel the same way. Going to the shelter is about more than helping others its also a branch of growth for myself. â€Å"Poetic Devices. † Poetic Devices. N. p. , n. d. Web. 01 Feb. 2013. This is a link to a list of poetic devices. This link will be useful because I know that even I don’t know so It’ll help me and help the kids at the program. â€Å"Poetry. † Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 30 Jan. 2013. Web. 01 Feb. 2013. I decided to use this link because some people think that poetry is only one thing, when in all actuality, poetry can be many things. This will be helpful because it will give a mor formal introduction than me saying this is was a metaphor is. It will actually explain to them what things are and how they should be used. I also think that this will show the kids the overall brand of poetry so that they know that poetry can be almost anything. This will be just an outline for what I want the kids to take from this program come April or May. Shearlds, Khalil. â€Å"Mentorship. † Personal interview. 7 Jan. 2013. This is the Manager, Center for Parenting & Early Childhood Education at the People’s Emergency Center. I interviewed him about the importance of mentorship and who needs it. This interview was important for me to do because this is what he does on a day to day basis. He mentors kids to show them where they can go and to let them know that they don’t have to stay planted in a place where they aren’t happy just because someone put them there. This will be important in the long run because, not that I already didn’t know, i will always know my mission. â€Å"What Is Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy? † What Is Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy? N. p. , 05 Apr. 2007. Web. 04 Jan. 2013. This is a link to the definition of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. I was talking to someone about my capstone and they told me that my whole idea fell along the lines of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. When I looked it up it actually told me a lot about myself and why poetry seemed to work for me. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is a psychotherapeutic approach that is directed toward dysfunctional emotions, maladaptive behaviors and cognitive processes. It’s basically disturbances of your feelings triggered by the things and stresses that you go through. This helped me because it told me almost exactly what these kids are going through inside. Young, B. â€Å"I Am A Queen – Urban Word NYC – BNV Semis 2008. † YouTube. YouTube, 24 July 2008. Web. 01 Feb. 2013. I decided to use this video of a New York City Poet B. Young. This poem was about his theory of why he would want to be a queen in the game of chess because it’s not about being the protected, he thinks that the protecter is the most important. I decided to use this video because I think it is a good perspective for young men to A realize how important a Queen/girl is and B to understand that being the protected or being the person who everyone who is always being looked after isn’t always who you want to be, sometimes you want to be apart of something bigger. Z. , Sharvon. â€Å"Philly Youth Poetry Movement. † Philly Youth Poetry Movement RSS 20. N. p. , 01 Feb. 2013. Web. 01 Feb. 2013. This is the website for PYPM or Philadelphia Youth Poetry Movement. This is the where I got my mentoring from so not to incorporate and utilize this source would be foolish of me. This website will give me the latest updates on the PYPM team, there videos and events that I could possibly invite my teens to. I can use the videos posted on the website and some of the ideas from poetry workshops to use during my program.

Why did the US find it impossible to defeat the Vietcong?

There were a number of problems facing US forces when fighting the war in Vietnam. Perhaps one of the biggest problems that they faced was the fact that the Vietcong were fighting using guerrilla tactics: fighting on a small scale, taking independent, irregular actions.The Vietcong depended on stealth, concealment, and surprise attacks and ambushes. Guerrilla warfare spread as Vietminh soldiers who were trained and armed in the North – the Vietcong, returned to their homes in the south to assassinate, ambush and sabotage. Unlike conventional wars in which the Americans may have fought, the war in Vietnam had no defined front lines. Much of the fighting consisted of hit and run attacks, with the guerrillas striking at government outposts and then retreating into the jungles.Most of the US soldiers were also caught out by booby traps set up by the Vietcong. These ranged from simple holes in the ground to metal spikes covered in poison or human excrement. Despite their sophistica ted weapons, the Americans could not eradicate the skillful and determined rebellions of the Vietcong.Another thing that made fighting the war difficult for the Americans was the uniform that the Vietcong wore. Their uniforms consisted of black pajamas and shirts, with straw hats. This led to a great lack of trust among the Vietnamese and the Americans, as they were unable to distinguish between real Vietnamese civilians and Vietcong soldiers in disguise.The Vietcong were also able to remain well hidden with their extensive underground tunnel system, which reached 250 kilometers in length. There were underground kitchens, weapon stores, dormitories, hospitals and rest areas. These tunnels made it increasingly difficult for the US forces to find the Vietcong.By 1966, the Americans began a series of ‘Search and Destroy Missions' in order to hunt down the Vietcong. The problem was that, by doing this, they began to loose the trust of, and ‘alienated' the Vietnamese civilian s. More importantly the American public began to doubt whether or not they were the ‘good guys’ in this war and grew increasingly dissatisfied with the nations war policy. The American government began losing the support of the public once they witnessed reports about the war and events such as the My Lai massacre.The unfamiliar terrain and conditions in Vietnam also made life more difficult for the US forces. The intense heat made it difficult for them to see where they were going, carry weapons and move swiftly. As much of Vietnam was covered in jungle, swamp and paddy fields, it soon became clear that the terrain was unsuitable for tanks.

Matilda And Markwardt And The Diamond Necklace - 1140 Words

Story and Character Comparison This essay will explore two stories, The Diamond Necklace and The Man Who Had No Eyes. This essay will show the reader the common theme in both of the stories and how those themes affected the characters. The essay will also analyze the two main characters Matilda from The Diamond Necklace and Markwardt form The Man Who Had No Eyes. The essay will analyze the traits of both characters and what traits they share. It seems in both stories if the characters told the truth they wouldn’t have gotten into trouble. When Matilda borrowed the necklace from her friend and lost it but her chose not to tell the friend which forced her to work super hard for the rest of her life. Although Matilda eventually told her†¦show more content†¦It seems that Matilda’s life wasn’t bad at all. It seems that Matilda should have been more grateful for the life she had. Matilda was also very careless. If she thought that the necklace was very expensive, she should have been a lot more careful with the necklace. She should have felt her neck got lighter, which would have indicated that the necklace was no longer on her neck. It seems that Matilda let all of her rich things get to her head and she got distracted. The point is that no body is perfect. Although, Matilda had some good traits she also had some bad traits. In the story The Man Who Had No Eyes, Markwardt lost his eyes. But, the reader could argue that Markwardt didn’t give up at all. When the chemical explosion hit the factory, Markwardt kept on going, he tried to escape. The reader could also say that Markwardt was ungrateful for his life, because he could have died in the explosion, and Markwardt doesn’t see that. All he noticed was that he is blind and he couldn’t do anything about it. The most noticeable character trait about Markwardt is his dishonesty. He lied about his story and how he became a beggar. This is the most noticeable because this lie is what the entire story is based on. The reader can argue that Markwardt lied because he wanted people to feel sorry for him or he lied because he was ashamed of what he did to Mr. Parsons. Markwardt was very negative about his life. It wasn’t his