Are We Slaves to our Genes?
- 11 September 2020
- book
- Published by Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Abstract
There is a common misconception that our genomes - all unique, except for those in identical twins - have the upper hand in controlling our destiny. The latest genetic discoveries, however, do not support that view. Although genetic variation does influence differences in various human behaviours to a greater or lesser degree, most of the time this does not undermine our genuine free will. Genetic determinism comes into play only in various medical conditions, notably some psychiatric syndromes. Denis Alexander here demonstrates that we are not slaves to our genes. He shows how a predisposition to behave in certain ways is influenced at a molecular level by particular genes. Yet a far greater influence on our behaviours is our world-views that lie beyond science - and that have an impact on how we think the latest genetic discoveries should, or should not, be applied. Written in an engaging style, Alexander's book offers tools for understanding and assessing the latest genetic discoveries critically.Keywords
This publication has 100 references indexed in Scilit:
- Prenatal endocrine influences on sexual orientation and on sexually differentiated childhood behaviorFrontiers in Neuroendocrinology, 2011
- Development of face processingWIREs Cognitive Science, 2011
- Stability and Change in Self-Reported Sexual Orientation Identity in Young People: Application of Mobility MetricsArchives of Sexual Behavior, 2010
- Adolescents of the U.S. National Longitudinal Lesbian Family Study: Sexual Orientation, Sexual Behavior, and Sexual Risk ExposureArchives of Sexual Behavior, 2010
- Loss-of-Function Mutation in the Dioxygenase-Encoding FTO Gene Causes Severe Growth Retardation and Multiple MalformationsAmerican Journal of Human Genetics, 2009
- Closing the Gap: Inverting the Genetics Curriculum to Ensure an Informed PublicAmerican Journal of Human Genetics, 2009
- The links between prenatal stress and offspring development and psychopathology: disentangling environmental and inherited influencesPsychological Medicine, 2009
- Functional and Evolutionary Insights into Human Brain Development through Global Transcriptome AnalysisNeuron, 2009
- Common genetic determinants of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder in Swedish families: a population-based studyThe Lancet, 2009
- Genetic and environmental contributions to food use patterns of young adult twinsPhysiology & Behavior, 2008