DADA: Nature V. Nurture Discussion

[mrdavismd.livejournal.com]

Hello DADA-ers!

I hope that you have gotten a lot of rest since our obstacle course and are ready for you next Challenge!

This challenge is fairly simple, all you have to do is express your opinion this may be hard for my fellow Slytherins just kidding!

Points:
This is a long debate, therefore there will be 10 pts awarded for first comment. 2pts for each additional comment. Initial comments must be 3-4 sentences and contribute to the on-topic conversation for credit. Follow up comments must consist of at least 2 sentences.

Deadline:
February 21, 2009 at 11:59 pm EST



Details:
Was Tom Riddle born evil or did he grow to be evil? Was Harry Potter innately good or could he have turned out bad? We heard some ideas from Dumbledore and Sirius when talking to Harry but what do you think?

Are people born being who they are or do they become who they are? Why are people good or evil? If Harry grew up like Tom Riddle would he have become Voldemort?

Participants will discuss and debate the idea of nature v. nurture and how one become good or evil. There are no sides for this discussion.

This suggestion was from thesamanthahope so extra 5 points if you participates.

Bonus Points
In your first comment please tell me if you own any of the following books:
#019 The Dark Arts Outsmarted
#024 Defensive Magical Theory
#031 The Dark Forces: A Guide To Self Protection
#032 The Rise And Fall Of The Dark Arts
#047 Practical Defensive Magic And Its Use Against The Dark Arts

Owners will get 2 points per book!


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Comments

[sunflower-pixie.livejournal.com]

I feel as though I have a pretty unique view of this topic. I'm an adoptee and about 13 years ago i met my birthmother. We've since become quite close, and I actually live with her right now. I used to really believe that nuture was everything. After all, it was all I'd experienced.

And certainly in a lot of ways I am a product of my environment. All the learned behaviors and conditioned responses that mark much of my personality are the direct results of how I was raised and the environment I was raised in. However, I was always a stranger in a strange land, a part of the landscape, but not of the landscape.

Having met my birthmother, I now see why. We not only look alike, but we share so many of the same personality traits, gestures, views of and ways of dealing with the world that it's almost uncanny sometimes.

So, I'd have to say that I think nature is like the frame of a house, and that nuture is what gives the house a particular look. Nature edges out nurture, but I don't think by a huge margin.

In the case of Harry and Tom, I'd say that they were very similar at their core, but that their experiences and how they were equipped to deal with their experiences were what put them on opposite sites of the good/evil binary.

Staci//Ravenclaw

[silveredaccents.livejournal.com]

I'm a stepmom, and while my son's father is in his life, his mother and I fight daily to combat the inherent laziness and apathy that is there. It's possible, but he will always have tendencies. Sometimes I think that it also depends on how strong certain genetic factors are. We comment regularly about how "weak" his father's genes are (always out of earshot of course), but some things are easier to counter and some aren't.

I completely agree that nature and nurture are very very close in what they can do, and maybe it is the learned behaviors that make the difference. After all, when pressed, Harry's first response is to push everyone away, leaving him exposed, not unlike Tom.

Kimberly / Slytherin

PS I'm glad you have two loving families as it were. ;-)

[mrdavismd.livejournal.com]

END OF COMMENTS FOR POINTS