Nature, Nurture and Nobly Leading The Way

In this article by Dr. Gerald Young, the author delves into the causes of human characteristics and behaviors. His main point is that “biology predisposes but the environment disposes” while we, by ourselves, “compose” what we are. We mold our personalities and mindsets from our genetics and environments, essentially motivating ourselves to change or stubbornly remaining the same.

I have a hard time reconciling this view of independent thinking with my first blog entry, regarding Sage’s view that the human mind is nothing but the brain, which is just a complex computing system. If thoughts are merely processed data, and this information consists of earlier experiences, accumulated facts and genetic predispositions, then, in essence, we are nothing BUT nature and nurture, and this “extra bit” of us that “composes” us is just regurgitated nature-nurture data computed and stored in our gray matter. Ergo, we are nothing more than incredibly complicated machines, programmed by our universe to live---or, more accurately, survive.

Do we actually possess free will? And if psychologists don’t know, why are there so many doctors (with blogs) that pretend they do, or offer convincing but confusing advice on the subject?

I would like to believe the humanistic approach to this issue, that humans do possess free will, that we are in control of our lives and not merely appear to be free-thinking creatures; but until some evidence that can explain how this “composer” is so separate from the environmental and biological aspects of our individuality, I will remain skeptical.

Maybe the personality paradox is that, as long as you think you have free will, you have it. The moment you “surrender” to your genes or your environment---if you are abused as a child, to abuse your children because that’s just how the world works; if you were born with a genetic predisposition for alcoholism, simply giving into the addiction because it is your destiny---you are letting yourself be controlled by them; you assume that there is nothing you can do, and therefore do nothing. However, if you THINK that you have options, you can choose to be a better parent for your children and be vigilant of your drinking habits. The irony is, of course, that in order to believe in this personal freedom, you have to be raised in an environment that encourages that kind of liberated thinking; in other words, that sense of personal freedom is just another outside influence determining how you think in the first place.

How would one get out of this “cage” of perceived freedom? Would the parameters of our personalities even let us exist outside them? I don’t know. But then, no one else seems to either.