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Nature, Nurture, and Human Behavior; an Endless Debate

Eman Ahmed Zaky

This editorial aims at addressing the endless debate concerned with the extent to which particular aspects of behavior are a product of either nature ( inherited i.e. genetic), nurture (acquired i.e. learned), or their interaction. In spite of the philosophical conflict between nativists who adopt an extreme hereditary position i.e. attributing everything to biological factors (nature) and environmentalists who believe that the way we are brought up (nurture) totally governs the psychological aspects of our childhood development through learning, it is hardly today to accept either of these extreme positions. There are simply too many “facts” on both sides of the argument which are inconsistent with an “all or none” view. So instead of asking whether the child development is down to nature or nurture, the question has been reformulated to “How much?” i.e., considering the fact that both heredity and environment influence the person we become, which is the more important? This is really the individualized question that needs to be answered. Lastly but by no means least, sorting out what is the cause and what is the effect is no mere academic matter. If we are really trying to help people’s lives, it is essential to get it right.