Nature Versus Nurture

How much of our identity is shaped by our environments? How much is intrinsic to who we are and beyond the control of external forces? These are ancient questions with complex answers. In this collection we've gathered texts that explore the issue of nature versus nurture from a variety of angles.

The Nature Principle

by Richard Louv

Publication year 2011

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Nature Versus Nurture, Environment

Tags Science & Nature, Education, Education, Psychology, Psychology, Philosophy, Philosophy, Health

In The Nature Principle, journalist and environmentalist Richard Louv calls for action against the nature-deficit disorder, a term he introduced in his bestselling novel Last Child in the Woods. Nature-deficit disorder is the mental, spiritual, emotional and physical detriment caused by a lack of connection with our natural environment. Written in five parts, Louv makes a compelling argument for decreasing the nature-deficit disorder in adults and presents recommendations for how to do so. Louv bases... Read The Nature Principle Summary

The Other Woman

by Sandie Jones

Publication year 2018

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Mothers, Nature Versus Nurture, Truth & Lies, Trust & Doubt, Forgiveness, Safety & Danger

Tags Horror & Suspense, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Psychological Fiction, Trauma & Abuse, Modern Classic Fiction

... Read The Other Woman Summary

The Phantom of the Opera

by Gaston Leroux

Publication year 1910

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Religion & Spirituality, Death, Loyalty & Betrayal, Art, Safety & Danger, Hate & Anger, Music, Love, Fear, Beauty, Nature Versus Nurture, Justice, Perseverance, Conflict, Trust & Doubt, Truth & Lies, Marriage, Good & Evil, Appearance & Reality, Fathers, Gratitude

Tags Classic Fiction, Horror & Suspense, Romance, Gothic Literature, Mystery & Crime Fiction, French Literature, Historical Fiction, Fantasy

The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux is a Gothic mystery novel first published serially in 1910. The novel follows a “ghost” who haunts the Paris Opera and the mysterious incidents attributed to this figure. The characters and the narrator himself try to uncover the secret of this ghost, who is really a masked man infatuated opera singer, Christine Daaé. The novel has been adapted into several formats, most notably a 1925 silent film... Read The Phantom of the Opera Summary

The Queen of Nothing

by Holly Black

Publication year 2019

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Power & Greed, Conflict, Forgiveness, Love, Nature Versus Nurture, Fathers, Self Discovery, War, Trust & Doubt

Tags Fantasy, Romance, Gender & Feminism, Leadership, Relationships, Parenting, Trauma & Abuse, Fairy Tale & Folklore

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The Reckoning

by Caroline Peckham, Susanne Valenti

Publication year 2019

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Fear, Hate & Anger, Love, Memory, Shame & Pride, Masculinity, Nature Versus Nurture, Family, Fathers, Friendship, Siblings, Self Discovery, Social Class, War, Power & Greed

Tags Fantasy, Romance

Published in 2019, The Reckoning is a dark-fantasy romance novel by Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti. It’s the third installment in their popular Zodiac Academy series, which belongs to the subgenres of dark academia and bully romance, and follows Ruthless Fae (2019). Peckham and Valenti are #1 Wall Street Journal and USA Today best-selling authors known for their interconnected fantasy worlds, with the Zodiac Academy series gaining significant popularity with reader communities on social-media platforms... Read The Reckoning Summary

The Selfish Gene

by Richard Dawkins

Publication year 1976

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Nature Versus Nurture

Tags Science & Nature, World History, Psychology, Psychology, Philosophy, Philosophy

In The Selfish Gene, originally published in 1976, author and renowned British evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins expands upon American biologist George C. Williams’s 1966 critique Adaptation and Natural Selection. In his text, Dawkins describes the molecular gene as the fundamental unit of evolution. Through the study of animal behavior, he explores numerous examples of natural selection. Like Williams, Dawkins shares a gene-centric view of evolution. Dawkins also extends Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution by investigating... Read The Selfish Gene Summary

The Shipping News

by Annie Proulx

Publication year 1993

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Family, Perseverance, Forgiveness, Grief, Hope, Loneliness, Love, Regret, Shame & Pride, Mental Health, Midlife, Death, Environment, Nature Versus Nurture, Place, Community

Tags American Literature, Coming of Age, Trauma & Abuse

Annie Proulx’s novel The Shipping News (1993) is a work of literary fiction that earned both the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the National Book Award. The story follows Quoyle, a large, ineffectual third-rate newspaperman from upstate New York. After a series of personal calamities, including the deaths of his parents and his cruel, unfaithful wife, Quoyle moves with his two young daughters and paternal aunt to their ancestral home on the stark coast of... Read The Shipping News Summary

The Spirit of Laws

by Montesquieu

Publication year 1748

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Justice, Politics & Government, Nature Versus Nurture

Tags Politics & Government, Business & Economics, Philosophy, Science & Nature, Age of Enlightenment, French Literature, World History, Philosophy, Classic Fiction

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The Sports Gene

by David Epstein

Publication year 2013

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Nature Versus Nurture

Tags Science & Nature, Sports, Psychology, Psychology, Self-Improvement, Health

The Sports Gene: Inside the Science of Extraordinary Athletic Performance is a 2013 non-fiction book by David Epstein that investigates the role of genetics in athletics. The Sports Gene became a New York Times best seller and was nominated for the 2014 PEN/ESPN Award for Literary Sports Writing. Epstein, an investigative reporter and a passionate runner, combines data from scientific research, interviews with experts, and biographies and anecdotes of individual athletes to paint a complex... Read The Sports Gene Summary

The Stories Julian Tells

by Ann Cameron

Publication year 1981

Genre Short Story Collection, Fiction

Themes Coming of Age, Perseverance, Joy, Loneliness, Childhood & Youth, Animals, Appearance & Reality, Plants, Food, Nature Versus Nurture, Objects & Materials, Family, Fathers, Friendship, Mothers, Siblings, Self Discovery, Trust & Doubt, Truth & Lies

Tags Relationships, Coming of Age, Children`s Literature, Education, Education, Realistic Fiction, Humor

... Read The Stories Julian Tells Summary

The Subjection of Women

by John Stuart Mill

Publication year 1869

Genre Essay / Speech, Nonfiction

Themes Equality, Marriage, Nature Versus Nurture

Tags Gender & Feminism, Women`s Studies, Philosophy, World History, Philosophy, Classic Fiction, Politics & Government

The book-length essay The Subjection of Women was written in 1869 by John Stuart Mill, an English philosopher known for his progressive, utilitarian ideas. The essay includes four chapters and was published in London by Lonmans, Green, Reader, and Dyer publishers. The Subjection of Women is a persuasive argument, laying out the problem of women’s legal, marital, and societal oppression to show that gender equality is necessary to ensure social justice, improve societal progress, and... Read The Subjection of Women Summary

The Summer Book

by Tove Jansson

Publication year 1972

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Nature Versus Nurture, Family, Love, Place, Grief, Grandparents, Childhood & Youth, Aging

Tags Grief & Death, Scandinavian Literature, Science & Nature, Modern Classic Fiction, Classic Fiction

... Read The Summer Book Summary