Nature vs. nurture

This is probably one of my favorite topics ever.

Things to look up...

Evolutionary psychology

studies of what are refered to as wild children

and twin studies

What is the specific topic of your paper... or are you pro a stance or what?

Here are some keywords and people you should include that will definitely get you some points.

empiricism- goes with nurture, perspective that experience is that the mind learns from.

monists- believe that mind and body are connected, goes hand in hand with nurture. (Aristotle)(John Locke)

dualism- belief that mind and body are separate and that we are born with experience and knowledge- nature. ( Plato, Socrates, Rene Descartes)

John Locke-  English empiricist formed the theory of Tabula Rasa means (blank slate) in Latin, means that the mind is a blank slate at birth and it is written by experience.

i am on the side that nurture is what shapes a persons identity

Frans Boas and Margaret mead are also key people to look up, there is also a term that I am trying really hard to remember, it may take a moment.

Youre on the more dificult side.

In reality you should look at it as being farely equal. Pretty much every trait is a posibility because of nature, but nurture can repress these traits and form who the person becomes. But the only studies to really show this are twin studies. In most cases they develop similar personalities even being in completely different environments...

There is a great paper on shizophrenia though. Probably one of the most interesting I have read that totally backs up the nurture side.

http://www.csupomona.edu/~ddwills/courses/ant353/readings353/Schizophrenic.htm

Read that.

i love religious people.

i wrote a paper on this a couple years ago pm me if you want me to email it you

pm sent