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

[caketime.livejournal.com]

I think Tom Riddle was born evil, but could've grown up to be nice, except he chose not to. I think that Nature and Nurture both are important to determine the end result "person"; however I also think people have the choice. It's not all nature or nurture, it's not all about what genes one has or where one grew up in, but just the choice of acting out what one wants to act out. Like, if Helga Hufflepuff had grown up in a house filled with sadness I think she would be able to rise and shine and be even more empathic towards people who come from broken homes. That's because she already had a heart of gold. Growing up around sad people would not change this fact.

So Harry and Voldemort were similar, in a way that Voldemort gave a bit of himself to Harry- but in fact, their genes aren't similar at all. Harry came from a family of intelligent, hot-headed people, whereas Voldemort came from a family of close-minded, hot-headed, power-hungry people.
The nurture part is more similar in that they were estranged from their family so I'll disregard the nurture part and focus more on the nature part:
basically Voldie is already more inclined to pick indulging himself and his whimsical fantasies of Killing All due to his genes.
Harry is just normal.

So I come to choice:
I don't think that Harry chose to be good. In my mind, he's actually quite neutral. He chose to be against Voldie, because Voldie made himself an enemy of Harry by killing his parents. It was just convenient that Voldie was a bad guy, so that automatically pushed Harry in the Good Guy camp.
Voldie, on the other hand, chose to be bad, though, because it was easier for him, just like some people find it easier to become alcoholics.

Mia of Ravenclaw
p.s. I've got all the books.