Nature versus nurture

Nature versus nurture is a long-standing debate in the field of psychology and biology concerning the relative importance of an individual's innate qualities (nature, i.e. nativism, or innatism) as compared to an individual's personal experiences (nurture, i.e. empiricism or behaviorism) in causing individual differences, especially in behavioral traits.

The phrase nature and nurture in its modern sense was coined by the English Victorian polymath Francis Galton in discussion of the influence of heredity and environment on social advancement, although the terms had been contrasted previously, for example by Shakespeare in his play The Tempest.

The nature versus nurture debate involves whether human behavior is determined by the environment, either prenatal or during a person's life, or by a person's genes. The alliterative expression nature and nurture in English has been in use since at least the Elizabethan period and goes back to medieval French.

Pronunciation

Nature: /ˈneɪtʃər/
Nurture: /ˈnɜːrtʃər/

Etymology

The term nature comes from the Latin word natura, meaning birth or character. In English, its first known use was in 1266. The term nurture comes from the Old French nourriture, meaning food or nourishment, which in turn comes from the Latin nutrire, to feed or nourish. Its first known use in English was in the 14th century.

Related terms

Languages: - East Asian 中文, 日本, 한국어, South Asian हिन्दी, Urdu, বাংলা, తెలుగు, தமிழ், ಕನ್ನಡ,
Southeast Asian Indonesian, Vietnamese, Thai, မြန်မာဘာသာ, European español, Deutsch, français, русский, português do Brasil, Italian, polski

Nature versus nurture