Thoughts 8/13/2006 August 13, 2006
Posted by Kelsey Martineau in Psychology.Tags: Psychology
1 comment so far
*Suggested Topic by Karlee*
Do surroundings shape a person’s personality or is it set from birth? Ya know that’s a really interesting question. I think the personality of a person is based purely on the surroundings of when he/she grew up. There was actually a book, alternate history of course, where Hitler was raised in a different family, with different parents, etc… and he grew up to be a great man. Granted we can’t base facts off of fiction books, lets take a look at some facts. Just look at your parents. How much are you like them? Most people grow up to be, in at least one way, just like their parents. They inherit those traits. There is a lot of controversy on whether or not humans have instincts. Well I know for a fact that humans are born with basic instincts. No one is taught how to smile, or to pull away from pain when it hurts, or to eat when you’re hungry, drink when they’re thirsty. It’s natural. It’s built into our bodies.
Now, I think genetic make-up has a lot to do with skills in the world. I believe that any human being, that isn’t mentally handicapped, is able to learn and do anything if enough effort is put forth. Granted, some people are going to grasp it better than others, but I believe our brains are generally able to learn and comprehend things the same. Now some people are pure genius, and don’t have to be taught, and are gifted beyond belief, and others have to work at it. But back on topic, yes I believe our personalities are shaped by our surroundings. Freud claimed that he believed a person’s personality is based solely on the age of 6 months to 2 and a half years, and who we spend our time with during that period is who we will be most like. Now if you think about it, most people are going to spend their whole childhood with their parents, so it’s hard to tell whether it’s genetic or surroundings, simply because the child has both, if that makes sense. He/she has the genetic make-up of their parents, and will also be spending their childhood with his/her parents. But in closing, I believe it’s solely surroundings, environment, and how the child is treated that shapes their personality.
Thoughts 8/4/2006 August 6, 2006
Posted by Kelsey Martineau in Religion.Tags: Religion
1 comment so far
Is blind faith a good thing? I don’t think so. In fact that’s one thing I’m willingly able to admit, is that I think it’s horrible when people are tricked into believing what they believe. I think we should choose our religion based on what we know from the ones out there, instead of blindly following someone’s teachings just because that’s what we were taught to do. As I have always said, I think religious decisions should be logically thought and and then made. Why am I a Christian? Because I have had situations in my life that caused me to believe. I have no doubt that there is a God, and I believe in Him. Does that mean I’m going to turn up my nose to other religions? No, because even though I am sure, I’m not going to disrespect them and try to tell them that what they are doing isn’t right, because it may be all they know. Imagine another religion, doesn’t matter what, but a member of it starts worshipping in their form of worship. It would be disrespectful to them to look down on them and ridicule, and some people will even do it to their face.
This goes both ways too though. People shouldn’t question religious beliefs. What if something a person is doing is right by their religious point of view, but wrong lawfully? It shouldn’t be questioned in my opinion. People are to involved with what others do. The world cannot understand that people must do what they believe is right. I don’t understand that, I really don’t. As a Christian, I have to do what I believe is right, and if it goes against the laws of the world, I think it’s more important. Because in my opinion, my eternity is far more important than my life here on earth. I just think people become far to self-involved in the affairs of others.
In closing, I don’t believe blind faith is a good thing at all. I think it can harm not only the person performing his or her faith, but also people observing it, simply because they appear brainwashed. Life really is short, and there is a lot more to life than what we see. As humans we’ve got to get our stuff straight, because as of now this is the only world we know, but there is far more.
