Directions

Write a short, organized paper explaining, in your own words, the notion of the blank slate and expressing your understanding of some of the arguments that we are not blank slates (found in the Human Nature and the Blank Slate video). Finally, you will describe the notion that children are defective adults and contrast it with the point that childhood has a purpose and that the purpose has to do with making us able to adapt flexibly to the particular environments that we live in.

Your work should be entirely in your own words. Do not use quotes. You can mention outside sources as support for your claims, but put those claims into your own words.

Organize your work into paragraphs and, possibly, into separate sections with headings.
Use complete sentences and correct grammar (word usage, punctuation, capitalization, etc.).
Use examples to illustrate your points.
Resources

These articles and videos should provide you with the information that you need in order to complete this assignment:

Blank Slate
Defective Adults
Human Nature and the Blank Slate (video)
What Do Babies Think? (video)
Criteria

Your work will be judged on these criteria and you will get feedback on how well you did on these:

Define the blank slate notion.
Any acceptable work will include a clear definition of the blank slate notion, with an example of what blank slate theorists believe about why people are the way they are.
Analyze arguments that we are not blank slates.
Solid work here will include an explanation of at least one of Pinkers arguments that we are not blanks slates and make clear why a blank slate theorist would expect something to happen that in fact does not happen. These should be taken from Pinkers common sense arguments, the point about cultural universals, and/or the point about twin studies.
Any acceptable work will include an explanation of at least one of Pinkers arguments that we are not blank slates.
Explain what having a relatively long period of dependence on caregivers does for human children in terms of their ability to adapt flexibly to their unique environments.
Solid work here will explain the children are defective adults notion and explicitly point out why it is important for us to have a period of development during which children acquire their abilities, attitudes, behaviors, and so on. That development will be explicitly tied to childrens need to adapt to a wide range of different environments. Ideally, the work will explain how things would be different if we were entirely programmed by our genes and why this would make us much less able to adapt to changing environments.
Any acceptable work will talk about the purpose of childhood as a period of adaptation to the childs specific environment.