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Convenient, so then nothing anyone does is their own fault, or responsibility! Not buying into this theory.
I buy into the theory but not into the absolving someone of personal responsibility. For example; I am ASD/ADD.
This could "explain" why I am prone to self-medicating with illicit drugs. But it does not give me an excuse to ruin my life or the lives of my family by being an addict. It just means I have to work harder at it every day than the average "Joe".
But thats OK; we all have our own hurdles in life to overcome. Running around waving the "victim" flag isn't going to get me anywhere.
We adopted our daughter when she was six; she had been severely neglected by her bio mom. It would be very hard to imagine a more disagreeable, unpleasant, stubborn, mean, vindictive, and dishonest child -- all VERY understandable, of course. Despite us doing everything we could to provide a good and loving home for her, she left our home seven years ago to go back to her bio mom, saying she hated us and never wanted to see us again. But that's not the end of the story.
After a few very hard experiences including two arrests (one for assault, one for shoplifting) within a year of leaving us, she is now 25 years old and a changed person -- married, a very loving and attentive mother of three preschoolers, and a hard worker (she provides daycare for two additional children and also raises small farm animals) -- and she calls or e-mails us at least three times a week, always signing off with "I love you." She has also apologized for her early treatment of us several times. In short, both her personality and behavior took a 180-degree turn.
So, which is her true (natural) personality? Well, perhaps, BOTH -- it is possible that her personality just needed time to mature and develop -- but I firmly believe that her choices and her environment DID affect her personality and might have actually changed it.
Perhaps she was just coming back to the personality she should have had (probably even DID have) at birth .. the one she was meant to have all along but which was disturbed by the environmental factors she began to encounter soon after birth which she had to learn to cope with as best as possible? I suspect, if your daughter (and by the way, I commend you for taking her on and dealing with what sounds like a difficult child for so many years, and am so glad that she seems to have finally become a happier human being and that is what she is passing on to her children now!) had been born to you and not her own parents (but with the same genes she has) or you had received her within a very short period after her birth, she might have been a much happier, easier child to deal with from that time on.
Your influence might have helped bring out the better parts of her personality faster, but, I doubt it could have changed the core of what she was born with any more than her real mother's influence could have. It probably does demonstrate though is that she had the will to survive and the ability to adapt (though the latter may have taken some time to kick back in after that first shock of having to survive in a nasty situation) all along.
Anyway .. that is just my take on this particular situation.
I believe that yes, just about everything IS innate/present in our genes at birth but many things can be triggered or influenced or sublimated by the myriad of things that comprise our life environment(s) - though one never really develops anything totally new after birth (or probably conception) .. we just bring out things that we didn't see before/know about before. So nature provides the basics, nurture brings out the characteristics most likely/necessary for survival/to be able to flourish in the environment present after birth (and also unfortunately the environment does also trigger some bad things too for many people when it comes to the more physical/health aspects of our lives).
Everything you are as a person right now. I'm not talking about your choices, lifestyle, decision, hobbies, and all the crap that you do everyday that you think makes you special, etc. I'm talking about YOU. What you are as a human being, physically and mentally. Many people are under the misconception that personality and anything regarding behavior is something ethereal and not physical. You are wrong.
Everything you consider "the inside" is nothing more than a byproduct of your brain, which is made of physical parts and components, which are 100% determined by your genetics. There is very little to nothing you can do to change how your brain is wired and how it operates. Your personality, character, temperament, inhibition or desinhibition, extroversion, introversion, intelligence, talents, etc, are mostly determined by how your brain is made.
Every single part about your physical appearance is determined by your genetics. Height, body shape, muscle shape, fat shape, skin color, hair color, facial hair, body hair, bone size, face, organs, how your body is wired and how every single part inside of you is made. Everything. It determines if you will suffer from health problems, how long you will live, how fast or slow you will age, if you will develop cancer or not, etc. There is very little you can do to alter these things.
Of course, humans will always refuse to accept this, because it leave them hopeless and powerless.
Humans will always put people with good genetics, which includes looks, talent and emotional aspects on a pedestal. This has happened since the history of mankind. We always look up to those are better than us.
Equally, we put down those who want to better themselves and who try to achieve what the people won the genetic lottery have. Example, such as plastic surgery and many other. It may be a form of jealousy and wanting to keep others down where you are.
Yes...that is true but the expression of genes, although it has a "default" value inherited from your parents, are mutable based upon chemical signals received from the brain. In other words, growing science in quantum physics and genetics suggest our genetic expression is pliable. We have just have not fully tapped into the mechanism(s) to control their pliability but it seems to be related to the synergy between thoughts/beliefs and emotions. In other words, its like we might be living in the Matrix.
Last edited by Indentured Servant; 10-14-2016 at 09:04 AM..
So self determination means nothing? This world is filled with mistakes and accidents. People are resigned to submit to the fallacy that the world is predetermined?
Convenient, so then nothing anyone does is their own fault, or responsibility! Not buying into this theory.
Who said anything about your actions, mistakes or accidents? I clearly said that everything you are as a person, physically and mentally is determined by genetics. This is a fact. Everyone is different because of it, not even twins are the same. That has nothing to do with your actions. Your actions, inaction, mistakes, etc are all because of decisions you made or consequences that happened, which in many cases, are outside of your control. Does how your brain is wired and operates, influence your actions?
YES, and so does your upbringing. Does genetics determine how your brain reacts to negative or positive upbringing? YES
Genetics is a very broad term, but not everyone's DNA is the same. This is what makes you different. This is what determines how you will look like physically. It will make you biased to certain behaviors, temperaments and personalities, due to the way your brain was wired and the physical parts were made. Everyone's brain is made different.
So, it is true, that everything you are now, was truly determined before you were even born. This includes genetics and epigenetics. All of this happened before your mother gave birth to you.
The same applies to other animals and pretty much every single living organism on this planet.
Who said anything about your actions, mistakes or accidents? I clearly said that everything you are as a person, physically and mentally is determined by genetics. This is a fact. Everyone is different because of it, not even twins are the same. That has nothing to do with your actions. Your actions, inaction, mistakes, etc are all because of decisions you made or consequences that happened, which in many cases, are outside of your control. Does how your brain is wired and operates, influence your actions?
YES, and so does your upbringing. Does genetics determine how your brain reacts to negative or positive upbringing? YES
Genetics is a very broad term, but not everyone's DNA is the same. This is what makes you different. This is what determines how you will look like physically. It will make you biased to certain behaviors, temperaments and personalities, due to the way your brain was wired and the physical parts were made. Everyone's brain is made different.
So, it is true, that everything you are now, was truly determined before you were even born. This includes genetics and epigenetics. All of this happened before your mother gave birth to you.
The same applies to other animals and pretty much every single living organism on this planet.
Through the world of Astrology, your Ascendant, Rising sign, time of day you were born, can determine, also, what you may look like physically.
Born with a Fire Ascendant (Leo, Aries, Sagittarius) look for eventual baldness. Born with a Water Ascendant (Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces) look for the monk's cap in the back of the head, with a patch of hair in the front of the forehead. No, completely bald, partially bald.
I believe that it was the university of Michigan that did a long term study of identical twins separated at birth and raised by different parents. Even thought their DNA was identical they both had different likes and dislikes as adults.
A few weeks after this study came out another story came out that the lesbian and gay organizations were fighting to get the university study banned from the college.
The last time I checked the long term study has been deleted from all sources.
In the study, several of the identical twins were found to be heterosexual and the other twin homosexual. This would completely eliminate the theory that "you are born that way" and that life influences can have a bearing on you and your life choices.
I personally have had experiences that have completely changed my life permanently. So the idea that you are what you are born with is just wishful thinking and is more of a politically correct position then one that's based in any proven scientific conclusions.
Yes, some of a persons emotional traits can be attributed to DNA but not all. By the time a person becomes an adult they are a product of DNA and life influences. The 2 of these combine and produce us as people.
I made a thread similar to this that is still literally on the front page and is over 10 pages long.
But I agree genetics rules everything.
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