1
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Everyone has heard the argument about nature versus nurture, which means does the biological background dominate or does the environment dominate?

2
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Although this argument has a long history, there has never been a real dichotomy.

3
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Anyone who works in biology knows that it is not a dichotomy but an interaction, nature and nurture.

4
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We are a product of what we are biologically as well as of the environment we have been exposed to over the course of our lives.

5
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Our society seems to have rejected the middle ground where biology and environ‒ ment are seen as integrally linked, arguing that it has to be all one or the other.

6
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Nothing is ever likely to be all one thing or another; it is usually a mixture of many things.

7
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If everything were based on the environment, we could say that someone who has had a terrible upbringing and was physically abused and grew up in poverty would definitely end up being a criminal, but this is certainly not the case.

8
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Many contributing members of society come from just such backgrounds; conversely, many criminals come from excellent homes.

9
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Assuming that it is all society or all biology is simply wrong, and no scientist accepts the argument.