What shapes up? We are told that it is either Nature – our genetic inheritance, or Nurture – how we were treated and raised as a child. I believe there is a third factor and that is Culture.
Through the accident of our birth we are born into macro and micro cultures. These cultures provide us with varying sets of metaphoric ideas and beliefs about "Life, the Universe and Everything." – as Douglas Adams said.
For example – I am writing in English and thus I belong to these varying macro to micro cultures:
Western Civilization
The English language civilization – born out of the heritage of Great Britain
American English
Through my family – my micro culture I was raised as a Reform Jew.
All these varying cultures taught me ideas about, god, faith, truth, right and wrong, etc.
I understand the world by agreement with or disagreement with those cultures and their values in which I was exposed and raised in.
Once I recognize the affects of culture I can acknowledge that we all are the same way. It is an accident of fate that I was born – in this lifetime, when and where I was. Once I recognize the accidents of fate I can image what I would have believed if I was born at a different time and to different parents. I could have been born to Muslim parents, or Catholic parents, Protestant parents, Buddhist parents, Hindu parents, Atheist parents, etc.
The values and beliefs you have were shaped by the cultures that you were born into. Realizing this – invites us to take a global perspective; to realize that we were all born into 'the box' of our birth culture. We can then awaken to the possibility that perhaps we should open up that box and look around us at all the varieties of possible ideas, values and beliefs.
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Comments: 5
Very interesting point in here.
Thank you for posting Gary !
Nature & Nurture - the 2 generally used phrase of what shapes someone I added Culture to encompass all the human social/societal stuff - religion, language, polictis, etc. And the process of what shapes us is, you correctly noted, a dynamic ongoing one. My essay was just starting the ball rolling in describing the process and pointing out that the foundations upon which we build our personality starts from that initial cultural endoctrination/enculturation process which occurs from the moment we learn our native language and our early childhood years.
We respond to our cultural 'inheritance' - accept it or reject it - and those are really 2 end points on a continuum of responses we make.
The shaping process is very dynamic.
I'll 'babble ' on in later posts in more detail.
Thanks for your interest!