Nature + Nurture

A popular philosophical debate focuses on what makes a person who they are:

Nature -- hardwired-traits from birth
Nurture -- their upbringing

We believe it is both

There is too much evidence regarding hard-wired traits for us to accept that everything about a human being is a result of their experiences. If that were the case, then a parent could make a decision about the kind of adult they are raising and focus all their energy into turning their kid into a specific kind of person. We don't believe that is possible, no matter how hard some parents have tried.

And yet there is a reason why psychologists and therapists repeatedly examine a person's childhood to understand who they have become as an adult. It seems undeniable that our life experiences shape us in some way.

We reconcile this by looking at how a person's naturally born traits influence the experiences they have. And we also look at how a person's life experiences help shape how their naturally born traits express themselves. 

When we stop debating nature vs nurture, all of a sudden we can see and hear a person more clearly. 

We can see how these two aspects help make every person unique. You are unique because for all practical purposes, no other human has ever had your specific traits + your specific life experiences.