Understanding Myself

After reading the course material and now that I am prompted with the question of nature vs. nurture, I think back to when I was growing up and how EVERYONE always said, “Wow Paul, you look a lot like your mom.” To this my usual answer would be, “Yeah, well duh” But after reading Steven Pinker’s article I am prompted with the question, “Are Mom’s heritable physical characteristics accompanied by heritable behavioral trains?” It would also by useful to note here that everyone always said that my sister looked a lot like my dad.

Obviously I understand that the bone structure of my face cannot come with a determined work ethic, or my straight, thin hair is not what causes me to stress over minute instances or worries that to other people would be disregarded. But these are characteristics that both my mom and I possess that are independent from my dad and my sister. So here we are, paired to our distinguished parent for life. Pinker would argue that the behavioral traits are partially heritable, and there is no such thing as “The Blank Slate.” My traits, however, could be due to my lifetime experiences and upbringing, which is argued by Lewontin.

The way that I make sense of myself, then, is to compare my upbringing with my genetics. As for my upbringing, my parents were never the type to force me to do anything. In school, they left it up to me to study and let me sort of govern myself. The environment was completely pressure free. They would love me whether I got an A or a C, as long as I did my best. I believe that my sister was raised in a relatively similar environment, although she is 3 years older than me. So I can conclude that we have grown up in similar environments

As for the genetics, I similar to my mom and my sister to my dad, I would say is basis to conclude that traits are partially heritable. Recently I learned that in high school, my dad was smart but did not try hard and my mom tried hard but was not that smart. My parents always told me that I got the “best of both words,” but upon further review I think that it would be more correct to say that I got the “best proportions of both worlds.” I, being more like my mom, am more prone to do my best and try my hardest than to just rely on shear intelligence. This leads me to think that Pinker may have been on to something when he claimed that behavioral traits are partially heritable. I received my traits similar to my mom than I did my dad, and in turn act more like her. My sister is the same way like my dad, as she is more prone to rely on intelligence than hard work.

I agree with Pinker and that we are not Blank Slates and our tendencies can be heritable. Genetics are certainly not the only determining factor, but I have shown that genes can play a substantial role in determining how you act and who you are.