Do the cells inside our organs define what we are as a human being? I don’t think so, the cells only define what we look like, but as humans, we are not just our appearance. In fact, the thing that separates us from animals is the fact that we are capable of thinking and deciding. How we think is defined by our surroundings and the people we interact with. That’s how different viewpoints arise and that’s why there are ideologies. If our surroundings did not have an effect on who we are, we would not have any civil wars or internal problems due to the fact that most nations that are currently in a civil war are nations that have less diversity and if we were coded to act like our DNA everybody would have agreed on a middle point.
This clearly shows that our surroundings have a great effect on our behaviour and decision making. In fact, the reason some people change over time can easily be explained by a change of surroundings. I believe this is a good thing because it makes it possible for people to be different, which increases the productivity of people due to the fact that not everyone is capable of doing the same thing, also it increases the interaction between people by making every one unique which means people can talk with each other and actually enjoy it since they are talking to a unique character. If we all had a hard-coded character in our genes we would’ve already reached a point where everyone is the same due to natural selection. The people that are considered boring or bad mannered would not survive in a world where everyone is thinking the same about them thus after some time their genes would be eradicated and replaced by a new generation that doesn’t include their kind.
So to make a quick summary, I believe that we are defined by what we have in our surroundings, the only thing genes define is what do we look like in the outside. We can change what we are by changing our surroundings thus changing our character and our views. I believe that this is a good thing because it creates differences between people which creates social interactions. If this wasn’t the case we wouldn’t have a reason to communicate with others since we would already know the answer.