Writer's Block: Nature or nurture
Oct. 28th, 2009 09:56 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tabular_rasa[Error: unknown template qotd]
Wow, good question-- but very controversial. I once got in a huge fight over this-- like, with walkings-out and crying and the whole shebang. Seriously.
Okay, so brain chemicals do influence mood. It's scientifically proven. If you increase or decrease serotonin or dopamine in the brain you are going to see a dramatic change, and chemical imbalances in the brain definitely cause mood conditions like some depressions or bipolar disorder (which I believe must be treated with lithium; therapy alone will not work). Therefore, if you are born with a certain chemical imbalance, it is going to translate in your emotional temperament. If someone is generally more depressed or emotionless than the average person, it may very well be because they lack certain chemical regulations.
But not necessarily. There are depressed people whose brains are completely in order when it comes to chemicals, who are depressed not because nature fucked up but because their circumstances are difficult and/or their psychologies inhibit their ability to cope with setbacks. Yes, they also lack serotonin-- and they may seem happier if it is rebalanced-- but the root of the problem lies not merely in chemicals but in circumstance and psychology. (And therefore it's my opinion that just feeding these people "happy pills" misses the point).
Chemicals are only part of the story. Most of the time, our brains regulate the chemicals that cause our moods for us, with no help from drugs. Our brains don't fire these off at random. Through a complex system of biology, psychology, and learned culture we come to associate certain circumstances with certain emotional responses. Some are more refined than others-- fear, for instance, is almost totally instinctive; guilt and and shame are learned-- but they all forge a connection between circumstance and biology that is difficult to shake. Therefore, if you have premarital sex in a culture that forbids it, you are very likely to feel guilty even if you try to push the feeling aside.
Personality is also important, though. Some people-- like me-- are just more emotional than others. Their response to the same stimuli is more dramatic. If I watch a sad movie, I am more likely than most people to cry and to feel vaguely depressed for the rest of the day. I'm not generally more depressed than other people, I watched the same movie so my circumstances are no different, and it's certainly not my choice to feel more affected.
Though you must also keep in mind that in some cases there is a choice. People can and do learn to overcome their emotions-- chemical, circumstantial, and personality-based-- completely of their own free will. Even naturally emotional people like myself can train themselves. This emotional control is the aim of most non-drug therapies, since personality and circumstance can seldom be changed. Zen mindfulness meditation would be an example, the practice of sifting through one's thoughts and emotions with disattachment, viewing them objectively in order to evaluate them and choose which are necessary and desired.
So, in sum, I think people's emotions are determined by (at least) four factors: biology, circumstance, personality, and personal choice. Basically, this a long-winded way of saying: BOTH nurture and nature, guys. BOTH.
Wow, good question-- but very controversial. I once got in a huge fight over this-- like, with walkings-out and crying and the whole shebang. Seriously.
Okay, so brain chemicals do influence mood. It's scientifically proven. If you increase or decrease serotonin or dopamine in the brain you are going to see a dramatic change, and chemical imbalances in the brain definitely cause mood conditions like some depressions or bipolar disorder (which I believe must be treated with lithium; therapy alone will not work). Therefore, if you are born with a certain chemical imbalance, it is going to translate in your emotional temperament. If someone is generally more depressed or emotionless than the average person, it may very well be because they lack certain chemical regulations.
But not necessarily. There are depressed people whose brains are completely in order when it comes to chemicals, who are depressed not because nature fucked up but because their circumstances are difficult and/or their psychologies inhibit their ability to cope with setbacks. Yes, they also lack serotonin-- and they may seem happier if it is rebalanced-- but the root of the problem lies not merely in chemicals but in circumstance and psychology. (And therefore it's my opinion that just feeding these people "happy pills" misses the point).
Chemicals are only part of the story. Most of the time, our brains regulate the chemicals that cause our moods for us, with no help from drugs. Our brains don't fire these off at random. Through a complex system of biology, psychology, and learned culture we come to associate certain circumstances with certain emotional responses. Some are more refined than others-- fear, for instance, is almost totally instinctive; guilt and and shame are learned-- but they all forge a connection between circumstance and biology that is difficult to shake. Therefore, if you have premarital sex in a culture that forbids it, you are very likely to feel guilty even if you try to push the feeling aside.
Personality is also important, though. Some people-- like me-- are just more emotional than others. Their response to the same stimuli is more dramatic. If I watch a sad movie, I am more likely than most people to cry and to feel vaguely depressed for the rest of the day. I'm not generally more depressed than other people, I watched the same movie so my circumstances are no different, and it's certainly not my choice to feel more affected.
Though you must also keep in mind that in some cases there is a choice. People can and do learn to overcome their emotions-- chemical, circumstantial, and personality-based-- completely of their own free will. Even naturally emotional people like myself can train themselves. This emotional control is the aim of most non-drug therapies, since personality and circumstance can seldom be changed. Zen mindfulness meditation would be an example, the practice of sifting through one's thoughts and emotions with disattachment, viewing them objectively in order to evaluate them and choose which are necessary and desired.
So, in sum, I think people's emotions are determined by (at least) four factors: biology, circumstance, personality, and personal choice. Basically, this a long-winded way of saying: BOTH nurture and nature, guys. BOTH.
