Introduction
The nature theory proposes that human traits are determined by the genes that are present in the cells of a human being and goes further to assert that a person’s sex, intelligence, or even personality is all determined by the genes. The nurture theory on the other hand explains that an individual’s traits like personality and intelligence are all determined by the environmental experiences that individuals come into contact with as they grow (Powell 6).
The nature theory
Subjectively, the nature theory is significant in the development of an individual’s traits while the role of nurture, in this case, is simply to enhance the development of these traits. Nurture’s ability to determine the outcome of a child is questionable since its effects are only felt after the child has started interacting with the environment. Indeed, the traits in an individual are determined to right from the time of conception.
My friend’s beliefs
My friends believe that there are five races in the world and that there is no one race that is superior to the others. Though they think that some races are economically, intellectually, and technologically better than others, this has been misinterpreted to conclude that some races have higher IQs than others. They feel that there are some races that industrialized earlier than the others and have therefore been ahead of the others in terms of economic, technological, and scientific development. Though this has made them appear intelligent than the others, it is never the case.
The affirmative action
The sociological position that asserts that racial segregations are social seems to be true and I believe my friends will surely agree with this. This is mainly because segregation is a phenomenon that is real in every society in which the wealthy, the famous, and the learned tend to associate with people of their status regardless of their race. The effects of segregation have led to a campaign for affirmative action.
Affirmative action refers to the steps that have been made to increase the number of women and minority groups in the education, employment sector, and public institutions (Raza, Anderson, and Glynn 70). Affirmative action aimed to reduce the discrimination of people based on their sex, race, and religious affiliations. Affirmative action was a great step towards ensuring equal representation of all the members of the society according to Raza, Anderson, and Glynn (70). In addition, since most of today’s societies are characterized by a lot of discrimination and biases, affirmative action helps in having the minority groups being given attention when it comes to the distribution of resources and access to national services (Raza, Anderson, and Glynn 73).
However, an attempt to balance out the representations of each of the members of the society tends to be biased against those who have worked hard to reach the level they are in. It encourages irresponsibility in that some members of society do not want to work hard to succeed; instead, they bank on affirmative action to get them to the levels where they don’t deserve.
Conclusion
The development of personality and intelligence is a very complex process that involves the influence of both nature and nurture. The differences in the geographical locations, technological and economic potential have brought about the differences in the level of development of various races. This should never be used as a means of judging the level of IQ of a given race. Affirmative action is important in ensuring the equal representation of all the members of society even though it has failed to encourage the minority groups to work towards achievement.
Works Cited
Powell, Kimberly. “Nature vs. Nurture.” about.com. 2009. Web.
Raza, Ali, Anderson, Janelle and Glynn Harry. The ups and downs of affirmative action. LA, Greenwood. 1999.