Nature Vs Nurture

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ries. Yet, theorists have broken down the line separating nature and nurture. Today, people us both explanations in research to advance the knowledge of human behavior.

Thousands of years before the field of psychology, philosophers pondered on
human behavior. As early as 350 BC, such philosophers as Plato and Aristotle
tried to understand behavior. The question of nature or nurture as the primary
drive can be traced to these times. Plato believed behavior and knowledge was
due to innate factors. Author Fiona Cowie states, "The claim that the character
of our mental furniture is to a large extent internally rather than
environmentally determined found its first substantive defense in the works of
Plato..." (Cowie, 1999, p. 3). Plato theorized, and Descartes later agreed, that
all knowledge is present at birth. Plato also believed that the environment
played a part in human processes, but he thought it had an unique role. He
believed the environment did not teach people anything new, but its purpose was
to remind people of information they already knew (Cowie, 1999). Although
Plato’s views are not supported today, he laid the groundwork for other
researchers to follow.

On the other hand, philosopher Aristotle theorized a different idea about human
behavior. He presented the idea that humans are born into the world with a
"blank slate" and people’s behav...