‘They’ try to convince us it’s Nature, but it’s Nurture.

A short deep-dive into the manifestation of the ego on the human psyche.

It is impossible to dismiss the relationship between the two contrasting ideologies in the explanation of the human condition. One explanation cannot exist without the other, as such in all things.

It is important to remember the ever-present phrase;

Two things can, and may always, exist simultaneously. To separate causation and correlation is something of a myth, at least in my mind.

Sociology, psychology and reality are three threads of the same fabric – the perception of others, the perception of yourself and what is known to be factually true. All correlated, all working in conjunction to develop the notion of ‘consciousness’ – without one, the other can not exist.

This concept can be easily applied to the heavily debated concept of ‘Nature vs Nurture’ when attempting to explain the reason for psychological development in all creatures.

Let’s start with the basics.

As humans, we are animals. If you are to run to the comments to debate this empirical fact, you are on the wrong website, my friend.

We observe the concept of Nature vs Nurture based on countless psychological studies and experiments – Twin Studies being the most widely-spread.

To this effect, it is known that genetic components have an effect on our psyches, mostly determined by ethnicity and gender; these are finite and known, indisputable by fact.

As animals, we are prone to protectionism, a sense of justified violence and a uniquely human natural ability to think and apply understanding. We are all pieces of the universe, experiencing the universe in turn.

In the animal kingdom (minus us egotistical humans), there is a predisposition to be constantly stuck in fight-or-flight. Kill or be killed. The same can, of course, be said about early humanity. Resources were scarce, and the fear of colossal danger was real back then.

Essentially, it is only our natural instinct as animals to strive to survive.

Why is this relevant?

Now that we have established the inherent components of what we know to be true, we must look to see what we do not yet understand.

Psychology studies and experiments could be done, with extreme success and intent in order to attempt to understand why we humans act. However, I believe that the concept of the individual is lost.

We are too general when we discuss the topic of human nature. No single human will ever experience the same experiences as another. Perhaps uncanilly similar, but never the same, as two things can and will always exist simultaneously.

Dwell on this thought.

Now that we may be able to understand the concept of never truly being able to place ourselves in someone else’s ‘shoes’, we can begin to truly understand others.

Experiences are built exclusively on nurture.

I don’t believe that simply the nurture of parental responsibility can be labelled as the only identity of nurture, however. Not in this day and age of extreme propaganda everywhere you look.

Children are easily influenced, a fact.

Teenagers are easily influenced, a fact.

Adults? Easily influenced, despite their objections, really.

As humans, we never stop learning, whether consciously or subconsciously, we are constantly being nurtured and made anew with each new experience and interaction in the physical world.

We are nurtured by the media, friends, parasocial relationships, social media, and our perception of self (self-talk) as we carry our ghosts in our minds as we grow.

To blame impulses on simply ‘this is the way it is’ is extremely diminishing to the unique experience of every human.

Why is this relevant NOW?

Because now, more than ever, we are constantly sold the idea that things are simply what they are.

We have been stuck in a stagnant mindset that nothing will get better, at least not by the individual.

However, again, now more than ever, the individual is all that truly matters.

We have evolved into self-nurturing, self-destructive machines, at least in the modernised world.

The idea of ‘self-care’ exists in the minds of some as a simple face mask, skin care routine and shopping spree.

This is NOT self-care, and then in turn, it is NOT nurture.

Nurture is not something physical. It is mental. Constantly. Ghosts of our echoing past, reaffirming our self-beliefs, whether positive or negative,

We, as a human race, constantly seek to blame the outside world for the state of our condition, blaming nature and anything other than things in our control.

If you abuse a child, they will turn out incredibly mentally affected, resulting in physical neglect in themselves and those around them. I am unsure as to why an experiment was required to learn this – simply human sympathy would have sufficed, but as humans, we love to suffer and inflict suffering…

Stop suffering; it is a choice.

Nurture, instead, the right way.