How Did We End Up Here

[bananaphallus]

Do you ever find yourself wondering how the things which make you who you are, as distinct from other people - opinions, sense of humor, which sides you tend to take, interests, etc. - came to pass? Or what along the way may have influenced or produced these things? Do you think it's all purely circumstantial, the result of what you've, by chance, been exposed to during your lifetime, or do you think you would have ended up as you are in spite of these things?

If you do think you-as-you-are is a product of happenstance, does it bother you that in some ways, you're 'wearing the clothes that were laid out for you'?

 

[Words]

No, it does not bother me. In the end there really would not be "full knowing". So its like a disease I would not be aware of.

 

[Cognisant]

...what he said.

 

[Pythia]

I think it's more like we do have an unalterable essence, but that we develop certain traits depending on what we've been through.

 

[Irishpenguin]

It's actually funny, because I always remember the exact moment in which an event took place that dramatically changed my opinion on a subject, no matter how much I even cared about the subject in quesion

The funny part about this is that I also remember the moments that affected my friends opinions about subjects, even if they totally forget about that moment and that it changed their perspective

Ex.

Friend: "Yea I don't like that band very much"

Me: "Oh yea because you watched that you tube interview with the drummer and he was a total douche"

Friend:".....uh......wait a sec........*ding* Oh yeeeeeeeeaaaaa, I did do that"

 

[echoplex]

There is no me. There is a physical body that is called 'me', among other things. And there are concepts of 'me' that are possibly infinite, or at least extremely plentiful. Obviously, alot is determined by the physical body and genetics; and alot is determined by happenstance. I don't really respect my opinions that much, but I do respect myself and I respect my journey through this wilderness of happenstance. Every opinion is an honest-as-can-be interpretation of reality as I experience it, updated to the moment. It is extremely biased and fallible -- but it's also honest. It's not really me, but it's what will be called 'me' in my life, for functional purposes. Because I have to own it, no matter how fallible it is.

In short, just take the ride and don't look back. It could've gone many ways, but it only went one way. Try to embrace that.

 

[cheese]

Nature vs Nurture?

But I'm not going to take that as an excuse not to think about it.

I think we all have natural tendencies. How far and in what direction (suppression or encouragement) these are developed depends on environmental factors. While these factors allow a lot of room for variation, I believe all the theoretical variants of You could have their traits placed into one of the two categories mentioned before - a result of tendency suppression, or encouragement. So your natural 'shape' channels environmental stimuli in particular directions.

I wish we could do clone studies. All I can do now is speculate.

*edit
When I say 'tendencies', I mean very basic things like the propensity for aggression. This can be directed in many ways:

Suppression: rebellion, excessive docility with major outbursts, unusually aggressive advocacy of docile traits
Encouragement: competitiveness, perfectionism, domineering personality, affiliation with counter-culture/government movements

Not a perfect illustration, but I hope it clarifies what I mean. I chose aggression because it seems to be something that can actually be bred out (eg with dogs/wolves) - signifying genetic origin - rather than a purely learned behaviour.