Are Humans’ Characters Formed by Nature? How Is It Formed?

Does nature make human characters naturally?

Are we all humans already developing our characters by nature? But how is it developed? Well, the main reason is because of the genes that flow in our blood. Ever since we were born, we have inherited the genes our parents brought for us.  The genes that came from our parents and their inheritances. However, before we move on to our main topic, it would be better if we knew what a gene is because we will delve into how human characters developed by nature through genes.

What exactly is a gene?

A gene is a fundamental unit of heredity that is responsible for the transmission of traits from parents to children. It is a segment of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid), which is a long molecule that contains the genetic instructions necessary for the development, functioning, growth, and reproduction of all living organisms.

Genes carry the information required to build and maintain cells, tissues, and organisms. They determine various characteristics, such as physical traits (like eye color, hair texture, and height) as well as biochemical traits (such as enzyme production and metabolism).

Genes are passed down from parents to children during reproduction, and gene variations are responsible for genetic diversity among individuals within a species. In fact, genes do influence human characters or personalities. According to twin and adoption studies, it indicates that human characters are 30% and 60% heritable. This means that genetics could even pass down a human’s character.

No wonder we often find many cases where someone’s mother or someone’s father committed a crime or whatever that is quite displeasing, the masses would look up to their children and say something unpleasing for those children. Even later on, those children still could be known as “a murderer’s son”, “a scammer’s son”, etc because for many years, people already know that “the apple does not fall far from the tree”. This means anyone could have inherited some character’s genes from their parents.

So are we all just born to have our current personalities?

To a certain extent, yes. Take, for instance, our temperament, estimated to be influenced by genetics by 20% to 60%.  We all got our temperaments from our parents, indeed. However, the outcome will always vary as time passes. We cannot ever make sure how humans develop their characters since each individual goes through different kinds of experiences, which cause variations and complex variables.

Your temperament includes personality characteristics that are mostly genetic. It guides your activities, social interactions, and responses to your surroundings. These encounters help to shape your personality as you grow. Some personality qualities include shyness, outgoingness, friendliness, and sociability, whereas conscientiousness includes personality traits like kindness, thoughtfulness, organization, and ambition. According to research, heredity accounts for around 40% to 60% of the variance in the big five personality traits (openness, conscientiousness, extroversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism). Temperament represents all of the basic character you inherited from your parents. However, your character won’t necessarily be the exact copy as your parents. After other influences aside from yourself and your family, you will eventually create your own character. So, this could rebut the statement from the previous part, “the apple does not fall far from the tree”. Because even though we inherited the character’s genes from our parents, that does not mean we will be exactly like our parents because we can choose to learn what is good and what is bad from our parent’s characters.

While research indicates that genetics play a major part in personality, it is equally crucial to acknowledge that other influences have an impact. In many circumstances, environmental factors influence gene expression, which is called nurture.
Personality is reasonably stable, but that does not imply it is set in stone. Instead, certain characteristics, such as age and identity, influence how personality evolves and changes throughout time.