The controversy over what determines who we are, whether it is Nature (heredity, our biological make up) or Nurture (our environment) is taking a new Through the past decades, psychologists have developed differenttheories to explain the characteristics of human-beings; how we feel, think andbehave. Usually, these theories were one directional in the nature / nurturequestion. Today, a new approach to deal with this question is emerging. Thisnew approach finds a middle ground between nature and nurture. Theconclusion that nature and nurture are complementary and work hand and handto shape a behavior (a purposeful and meaningful activity) is not a compromise;it is a result of a vigorous study of each of the components of the equation ofheredity and environment and their affects on determining ones developmentand behavior. In fact, the more we understand about development and behavior,the more obvious it becomes that nature and nurture are similarly influencesrather than determinants, not only singly but also in combination. Here below, Iwill endeavour to expose the leading theories dealing with the question of naturevs. nurture. I will also try to present the third, new-emerging approach meant tosolve the mystery of What is it that makes us who we are? Our genes made us. We animals exist for their preservation and arenothing more than their throwaway survival machines. This is what RichardDarwin states in his book: The Selfish Gene. In his international best seller book,he argues that we are merely a product of our genes and our main purpose inlife is to serve the genes, become distribution agents and ensure theirproliferation. Before we take any stand to Darwins statement, let us familiarizeourselves with what is meant when the term nature is used. Nature representswhat we are born with and cannot control. Our biological make up is determinedby the genes we receive from our parents(reside in the 23 pairs ofchromosomes, 23 from each pa...
