Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t7fkt Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-25T15:06:53.677Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

3 - The mutual definition of culture and biology in development

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 September 2009

Heidi Keller
Affiliation:
Universität Osnabrück
Ype H. Poortinga
Affiliation:
Universiteit van Tilburg, The Netherlands
Axel Schölmerich
Affiliation:
Ruhr-Universität, Bochum, Germany
Get access

Summary

The classical debate concerning nature and nurture implies a single relationship between biology and environment, even when the issue is resolved as an interaction between both forces. However, contrary to this perspective, my thesis is that there are not one but many relations between cultural environment and biological nature in human development. These relations constitute ways in which culture and biology mutually define and influence each other in development. I am going to illustrate this thesis with six relationships, taken one at a time. These relationships are tentative, meant to stimulate further research and thinking.

The relationships are not alternative perspectives, but complementary principles. By illustrating many principles with examples from the same community, I can present a clear case for complementarity. My research site is the Zinacantec Maya hamlet of Nabenchauk in Chiapas, Mexico. Examples from there and elsewhere show that all six principles are required to understand the roles of culture and biology in the developing human being. They will also illustrate the value of the theoretical principles for understanding real-world phenomena.

While complementarity is highlighted by utilizing material from a single community, at the same time generality is compromised. In addition, the examples are by-products of research designed for other purposes. The principles require not only further investigation in other settings, but also research that is designed to test these particular relationships. In this way, the principles can transcend the research of a few investigators.

Type
Chapter
Information
Between Culture and Biology
Perspectives on Ontogenetic Development
, pp. 57 - 76
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2002

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×