The only free choice Human beings have
Question from the Internet:
“Sociology question: If personality is determined by nurture and/or nature, how do people change? You can’t change genetics & you can’t change how they were raised as a kid, but people can change. Doesn’t this suggest that personality is determined by choice?”
This is an extremely important question as it relates to how we can improve on ourselves, how we can change ourselves, where our actual free choice over ourselves is.
My answer to this question is based on the research and finding of unique, empirical natural scientists who have been studying human nature in contrast to Nature’s system for millennia, it is most notable based on a unique article written about 100 years ago on the freedom of a human being.
According to that our behavior, actual state is based on 4 factors, which are our genetic inheritance, the necessary, unchangeable consequences of that genetic inheritance, how those consequences can change as a result of external factors, and the actual external factors that can influence us.
From the above, we can see that the only way we can change, improve a human being is by the external influence we modulate what is already in the person.
In our case, the most important external influence on the person is the human environment one is in. We are social creatures, we constantly measure ourselves to others, all our values, goals, aspirations, behavioral patterns are mostly influenced by the environment. It is true that upbringing and education are also important factors, but their influence mostly ends by the end of teenage years, while the actual society, the human environment that surrounds us continues its influence over us until we die.
Thus our only free choice over our development, growth, over any changes in goals, aspirations, behavior is in changing the environment that will act over us as a human incubator. IN truth even this choice is mostly influenced by many external factors, but when we actually found an environment that we accept as our incubator, we can reinforce our choice by actively becoming involved in shaping, strengthening that environment to become the best possible “incubator” not only for ourselves but also for others.
Then we start to play a dual role, on one hand, we are like an embryo in that incubator, while at the same time we also are part of the incubator for others.
For the best result, such an environment has to be relatively small, manageable with active, conscious mutual participation, mutual commitment, and it also needs a specific method, education so our collective goals, values, aspiration match most closely what Nature’s evolution expects from us, after all, we do not exist in a vacuum, but we are integral parts of Nature’s fully integrated, purposeful and deterministic system.
And the moment our incubator with its goals, aspirations, intentions starts matching Nature’s overall plan and expectations, we also start drawing positive influence on us from Nature. And it is this positive influence from Nature as a result of our proactive efforts that will truly change us, develop us, as we are as if turning our sails in the best possible direction to harness Natural evolution’s flow, force to pull us towards the role, purpose state it determined for us.
This is how we can become the best possible Human beings — not according to our subjective, egoistic expectations, but following Nature’s deterministic plan and its unique Human purpose for us.