Friday, July 2, 2010
Question #1
I don’t believe we are entirely creatures of our culture. While a rather large percent of who we are is nurtured though our culture, I believe there is also a percentage that is nature or biological. This is why two children can grow up in the exact same household, in the same community, in the same country and still end up with completely different personalities and outlooks on life. Most parents will tell you that a child's characteristics and demeanor were apparent from birth. That said, an outsider from a different country would still automatically see the similarity in these two people because they still adhere to the norms of their own culture. The best way to break through the limits of our culture is to experience new and different cultures. The more that you learn about other cultures, the more you will notice how your own behavior is culturally motivated.
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I agree with you on that we are who we are because of both our culture and because of nature or biological reasons. It is actually very interesting to think about how growing up in different areas makes people completely different from each other at times. I always think about how people from Orange County are stereotyped in a negative way and how most people think everyone that comes from Orange County is the same, which is why I usually do not tell people I am from there. =] San Jose has a completely different culture than where I grew up and it is so cool being able to learn and absorb a different type of culture.
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ReplyDeleteI too wrestled with this concept of nature vs. nurture when responding to this question. I have also heard parents of young children describe personalities of children being recognizable from a very early age. Also from personnel experience, I can say that my brother, sister and I are very different people.
ReplyDeleteThat said, I wonder if a very small child develops his or her behaviors based on the responses of the parents. After all, we are pattern finders and I wonder if these parents are “seeing” patterns in there children that are not really there and reinforcing those perceived patterns by their responses. As for my siblings and I, we had very different friends and different expectations from our parents. I wouldn’t go so far as to dismiss nature all together, I just wonder if this influence is much smaller then some would have us believe.