In one sense heredity is the seed, and environment the soil. The whole
structure and pattern and inherent tendencies and potentiality are in
the seed and cannot be changed. The child has nothing to do with its
early environment during the period when impressions sink the deepest
and when habits are formed. It is then that the meaning of facts is
interpreted. At this time the child is fashioned by the teachings and
environment in which it is placed. As the child receives its first
impressions, and all along through its development, it is forming habits
from those about it. These habits come to be strong, dominating forces
in its life. Very few people, if any, can trace definite views of
conduct or thought to their conscious effort, but these are born of
their structure and the environment that formed their habits after
birth.
The fact that an individual's political and religious faith depends
almost entirely on his place of birth and early youth, shows the
strength of environment in forming and shaping opinions and beliefs.
As the child grows and develops, it is influenced by all that surrounds
it. The human machine moves in response to outside stimulation. How it
will move depends upon two things, the character of the stimulant and
the machine to which it is applied. No two machines will act exactly
alike from the same stimulus. Sometimes they act in diametrically
opposite ways. For instance, under the same stimulation, one may run and
another may fight, depending perhaps on the secretions that the ductless
glands empty into the blood.
No machine can act except according to its make-up. Even an ignorant
person, who finds that the same stimulant produces different results on
different machines, would know that the structures are not the same.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account