nature and nurture
Genes versus upbringing
Nature and nurture is a paired phrase referring to the two forces thought to shape human development: inherited biological traits (nature) and environmental influences like upbringing, culture, and experience (nurture).
The nature versus nurture debate asks which matters more in determining personality, intelligence, or behavior.
Most contemporary thinking acknowledges both interact: It's not nature or nurture—it's nature and nurture.
- geneticsScience of hereditary transmission
- gene poolSpecies' total genetic diversity
- environmentExternal conditions affecting life
- upbringingChildhood care and training
- instinctInnate behavioral tendency
survival instinct · heredity · family tree · tender loving care · learned · parenting · development · traits · behavior · learned behavior · childhood · human development · biology · conditioning · growth · influence · temperament · DNA
nature and nurturegenetic determinism
Heredity alone shapes traits
blank slate · tabula rasa · nature versus nurture · nativism · reductionism
nature and nurturereductionism
Explaining wholes through parts
determinism · fatalism · free will · randomness · chaos
nature and nurturefree will
Autonomous choice capacity
randomness · fate · destiny · spontaneous generation · mystery
nature, nurture, natural, naturally, unnatural, supernatural, naturalist, naturalism, naturalize