The Blank Slate The Modern Denial Of Human Nature Essay

The concept of nature vs nurture is easily one of the oldest and most controversial arguments of modern times. Harvard psychology professor Steven Pinker is notably known in the world of psychology and the social sciences for his book â€Å"The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature.† In his book, Pinker addresses this exact argument and reasons that human behavior is mostly and at its roots is formed by evolutionary psychological adaptations. In 2003, Steven Pinker gave a Ted Talk regarding his book and the idea that human behavior is predisposed, rather than formed by socialization, interactions between people and the exposure to culture. Pinker discusses the reasoning behind his stance on nature over nurture using five key discussion points, these points being, human universals, neurology and DNA, political reasoning, the arts and parenting. During his Ted Talk, Pinker begins by stating that there are human universals, concepts, behaviors and traits that are carried and found, with many similarities, throughout every human civilization, he then explains that a common example of this is with twins separated at birth, and can be proven through neurological studies. Another concept that Pinker address to further solidify his stance is the idea that the argument that humans are ‘blank slates’ and human behavior is developed through nurture rather than nature is the political reasoning behind the benefits of everyone being ‘blank slates’. Two critical points he made howeverShow MoreRelatedThe Power of Nature and Nurture Essay1562 Words   |  7 Pagesdebate on nature versus nurture has been a mystery for years, constantly begging the question of whether human behavior, ideas, and feelings are innate or learned over time. Nature, or genetic influences, are formed before birth and finely-tuned through early experiences. Genes are viewed as long and complicated chains that are present throughout life and develop over time. Nature supporters believe that genes form a childs conscience and determine ones approach to life, contrasting with nature is theRead MoreCognitive Psychological Theory506 Words   |  2 Pagesï » ¿COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY THEORY Overview Cognitive psychology is a modern school of psychology that departs from the traditional view of psychology as primarily a function of responses to stimuli and patterns of conditioned responses. It does not reject the behaviorist school of psychology as much as it expands its scope to include elements of responses and behavior that are not fully addressed by behaviorism (Gerrig Zimbardo, 2009). Cognitive psychology appreciates the value of observational dataRead MoreNature Vs. Nurture : An Individual s Criminal Behavior Essay1753 Words   |  8 PagesThe objective of this study is to examine whether it is nature or nurture who plays the most vital role in a human’s behavior, specifically an individual’s criminal behavior. Criminal behavior is defined as an act or failure to act in a way that violates public law. Some believe that criminal behavior can be identified as early as conception, meaning that criminal behavior is because of your genes. While others believe th at one’s upbringing and social learning environment directly contributes toRead MoreProfile of Bill Clinton from a Psychoanalytic Perspective634 Words   |  3 Pagescom/time/politics/article/0,8599,1847723,00.html http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1847723,00.html Gerrig, R. and Zimbardo, P. (2009). Psychology and Life. New York: Allyn Bacon. Pinker, S. (2007). The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature. New York: Penguin. Read MoreThe Clifford s Transformation Is Merely Mammon Of Mechanized Greed 1193 Words   |  5 Pagesis essentially for the fame, success and his desperation to maintain his upper class. This fact could be demonstrated by his attitude towards nature. Actually in this novel, Lawrence depicts the nature, as contrast to industrial society, to be a place full of warmth, light and life and a place where man will revere and delight. The real metonymy for Nature in this novel is the wood. Lawrence expresses his eulogy and praise for the wood without any hide. â€Å"How still everything was! The fine rain blewRead MoreBoth Nature and Nurture Influence Human Behaviour1918 Words   |  8 Pages‛BOTH NATURE AND NURTURE INFLUENCE HUMAN BEHAVIOUR’ The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Current English defines Nature as â€Å"persons or animal’s innate character, and innate meaning inborn†. This means that nature plays a large part in how humans inherit the physical characteristics of their parents, but also that their personalities and characters are predetermined by family genetics. The dictionary also defines nurture as â€Å"bringing up, fostering care† which implies learning and training to regulateRead MoreThe Importance of Nature and Nurture Essay1036 Words   |  5 Pages The nature versus nurture debate has lasted centuries due to the difficulty of separating genetic and environmental factors in humans. Studies on behavioral genetics measure similarity between subjects, but cannot locate its origin. For this, a control must be present, leading scientists to twin research. Identical twins have the exact same DNA, differing from fraternal twins with only 50% similarity, no greater than average siblings. Identical twins offer a natural experiment that allows researchersRead More Poes Fall of The House of Usher Essay: Beyond Empiricism and Transcendentalism1482 Words   |  6 Pageswrote the Essay Concerning Human Understanding, which was published in 1690, and is credited with opening up the period of Enlightenment in Europe.   Its strongest connection to Poe was that it had a   late popularity in New England(Voloshin 18). With this popularity in New England, many of the writers of the time either voiced their approval of Empiricism, or took an opp osite stance in their literature. Locke believed that the mind was a Tabula Rasa, or blank slate, and that man gained knowledgeRead MoreEssay Bullies: Born or Created?1816 Words   |  8 Pagesdebate, nature researchers believe that increased aggressive behaviour can be caused by genetic factors and hormonal disturbances in the human body. On the other side of the argument, the nurture team believes in John Locke’s the â€Å"blank-slate theory† which says that a childs perception of and reaction to the world is the outcome of his own personal experiences and observations (Pinker, 2002). Are bullies born or raised debate The argument of those who claim that bullying is made by nature is basedRead MoreNatsume Sosekis Kokoro1958 Words   |  8 PagesFew novels dare to touch the inner vulnerability of humankind. It is Soseki’s Kokoro that captures the essence of friendship and loneliness, truth and betrayal, and life and death. The novel is, after all, about human nature. Any one reading this powerful work will quickly relate to the characters who go through tremendous strife, personal changes and much reflection. While Kokoro was written in Japan many years ago, it may be valuable to a reader even in contemporary society as its attributes may

The Legal Status Of Prostitution - 1460 Words

Research Design: Prior to the discussion of the methodology employed in this research, a hypothesis of answer for this research question ‘Can people attitudes on the legal status of prostitution be shaped by media representation?’ will be allocated. The hypothesis position to this question is posited as ‘an individual with less knowledge on the subject (i.e. prostitution and its legality issues) is more probable to affect by media on his or her attitude towards prostitution’. This research intends to adopt an experimental design because it deemed as an ideal research method to measure individual attitude change in regards to the effects made by the media on prostitution as a legal or formal occupation. As Imai, Tingley and Yamamoto†¦show more content†¦According to Bechhofer and Paterson (2000), experimental design is commonly found in psychology, economics, medical and some of the policy research, but it is the least common research design found in sociology. As a researcher in sociology, using an experimental design in this research not merely attempting to break through the intrinsic research tradition, but also to reveal an interesting research on measuring media effects and attitude change on legalising prostitution. Due to the time constraint issue (only few months to complete the research as a postgraduate student), this experimental research takes place in the University of Leicester and it targets are the University of Leicester students. Despite of age, gender, class and their degree, thirty university students will be randomly selected for a semi-structured interview. The interview begins by asking students to rank how positive or how negative they are in viewing prostitution as a legal or formal occupation, based on a Likert scale. This scale designed as a 5-items (1 = Strongly Agree, 2 = Agree, 3 = Neutral, 4 = Disagree, and 5 = Strongly Disagree), which based on the participants’ self-report on indicating their beliefs and attitudes towards prostitution. An example of the question in the scale will be similar to ‘I think entering into prostitution is a free choice and prostitution should be seen as a formal job’. By doing this at the

Thesus vs Achilles Free Essays

Dumbledore said, â€Å"It is the choices†¦ that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities. † This theory applies to everyone. Through the choices and actions of Theseus and Achilles, we learn a lot about their characters. We will write a custom essay sample on Thesus vs Achilles or any similar topic only for you Order Now We find Achilles to be motivated by rage and pride, with ambitions of glory and vengeance. Theseus, on the other hand, seems to be motivated by others’ needs, and aspires to do right by those who he should help. Theseus also likes to challenge expectations and overcome the â€Å"impossible†. Theseus begins his saga with a journey to Athens. He chooses the difficult and dangerous land route, as opposed to the sea route, because he wants the challenge. On his way, he completes six tasks that make him a great hero. He kills robbers and murderers, helping innocent potential victims, delivering justice, and making a name for himself. Once he arrives in Athens, he kills some of the people who plan to attack him. Even though they are not innocent and pose a threat to him, he doesn’t kill about half of them, including his uncle Pallas. This shows his solid reasoning. When Theseus captured the bull of Marathon, he met a normal, old lady, and paid her significant respects in her death. Theseus was seen as a â€Å"champion of the oppressed. † For example, he gave Oedipus a place to live after he chose exile. Achilles’ ambitions and motivations had little in common with Theseus’. He was driven by anger, the need for vengeance, bloodlust, and excessive pride. He strived for eternal glory. Achilles played a huge role in the Trojan War, a situation that aligned perfectly with his personality. He showed no humility in slaying others. He mutilated Hector’s body. He refused to accept Agammemnon’s great gifts out of his hubris. In the end, his need for vengeance overcame even his dispute with Agammemnon, and his sole purpose was to destroy Hector, afterward mutilating his body. He was miserable, but finally learned compassion. Achilles and Theseus were very different heroes. Their choices and actions clearly outline their motivations and ambitions for us. Theseus is motivated by the excitement of challenges, and the opportunity to help others. His ambitions are greatness, but, more importantly, justice and aiding those in need. Achilles’ motivations are negative and his ambitions shallow. However, at the end of his life, we see a positive change in his personality. How to cite Thesus vs Achilles, Papers