Thursday, June 28, 2012
Creatures of Culture
The presented statement, "we are creatures of our culture", truly asks the quite common question of "nature vs. nurture". Personally, I absolutely believe that our beliefs, hopes, and personal limitations are shaped and created by the environment and culture in which we exist. For example, a young boy raised in a plush, safe neighborhood, with incredibly attentive parents and a good teacher will be more likely to grow educationally than a boy raised in the slums, with little attention from parents or administration. In order to break through this "bubble", one must first understand that they actually exist in a bubble in the first place. By recognizing their environment and culture for what it is, they can then move forward accordingly. In a sense, this concept is mirrored in the film "The Matrix", which symbolically presents an individual coming to terms with a larger reality, outside of his own little bubble.
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Great post!
ReplyDeleteI also mentioned in my post on this question, the nature vs. nurture ideal. However I must say that I do believe in a combination of the two. We are a product of our environment, how we are raised, how we learn, where we learn, etc. Yet I do also believe that we have control over the nature of our environment. We are capable of changing much about the environment we are raised in, for example the young boy you used in your example who was raised in the slums, could change his environment just by finding alternatives to education. Though he would never have the same opportunities as the rich child raised by attentive parents, the young boy in the slums does have the capacity to learn just as the rich child. It is a matter of recognition, like you mentioned, realizing your own reality and taking the steps to change it. Now I’m not by any means saying the boy in the slums will go on to become a PHD candidate, but I do like to think that we are not a permanent product of our physical environment, and that nature does not necessarily control our destiny.
Thanks for sharing!