The nature vs nurture debate has persisted for many years in biological, genetic, sociological and philosophical circles, and has not yet been settled. There is strong evidence in both directions and while new developments in the field of genetics are constantly discovering genetic susceptibilities and tendencies, it is hard to believe that nurturing does not have a profound effect on the human being and the way they behave. Richard Lewontin, an American evolutionary biologist, geneticist and social commentator believes there is more to human evolution than the view of evolutionary psychologists such as Edward O. Wilson and Richard Dawkins (author of The Selfish Gene) who see the survival of the gene as the most important feature of evolution (Richard, 2005).
Lewontin believes that there must be a careful understanding of the whole organism as well as its environment (Richard, 2005). He says that a niche does not exist in isolation: it is acted on and defined by its occupier. Lewontin believes the genetic view is an oversimplification and he questions the heritability of human traits such as intelligence as measured by IQ tests and Bell curves in several articles and in his book, co-authored by Steven Rose and Leon J. Kamin, Not in Our Genes.
Studies have shown that the stimulation parents and caregivers provide to children in their first three years of life sets the stage for effective, productive communication skills (Baby, 1999). Researchers at the University of Delaware found that encouraging chatter with baby talk helps foster language learning, according to Professor Kathy Hirsh-Pasek of the psychology department of Temple University, and author of How Babies Talk: The Magic and Mastery of Language in the First Three Years of Life. Babies are pre-programmed to acquire language, but baby talk and the sing-song way that adults murmur to children helps in the development.
Hirsh-Pasek says babies have very act...