Nature vs. nurture
...we shaped by our heredity and by our life history? Science proves that physical traits are hereditary, but what about traits such as intelligence, behavior and personality? Are we shaped into who we are or are we all just born different? Plato assumed that character and intelligence are largely inherited and that certain ideas are also inborn, Aristotle counter argued that there is nothing in the mind that does not first come from the external world through the senses. This debate has never been concluded, proving one side to be much more dominant over the other, but new science has found arguments to add to both sides on the topics of culturally diverse gender roles, biologically inherited disorders, and homosexuality. First, we must begin by debating gender, men vs. women, who really is more dominant and what roles are and are not given to us by society. Seven weeks after conception, you are anatomically indistinguishable from someone of the other sex, not long after this relatives and friends begin helping to shape you into this gender role by deciding to buy blue gifts if you are a boy and pink presents if you are a girl. Even though nature has given you a physical sex, it is the outside world (nurture) that begins to describe to you what it means exactly to fit this role. For the most part there is no problem identifying physical gender, either you are male or female, however, gender identity(the gender by which you identify yourself/or that others attribute to you) may be affected by a variety of social structures, including ethnic position, employment, status, religion or family. Some research indicates that gender identity is fixed in early childhood and is thereafter static. It is estimated by age two-three you have established your gender identity. Gender identity does not always agree with gender roles, the ways in which men and women are to express themselves to the outside world (such as the case of transsexuals). However, our focus is o...