De Silva, Padmal See all items with this value

2005

6

197-201

1530-4108 See all items with this value

The nature vs nurture debate has had a long history in psychology, and indeed in other human sciences. One set of early views considered hereditary/genetic factors to be foremost in determining a person's behaviour and personality, while an opposite set of views considered everything to be moulded by the environment. These polarized views have now given way to recognition of the need for multi-factorial explanations. This paper provides a brief discussion of these issues, and goes on to consider them with special reference to mental culture. The Buddhist perspective on mental culture is explored in the final part of the paper.