Genetic Determinism
On Christmas Day in the year 2001, I gave birth to a healthy baby boy. When I looked into the brand-new face of my son I saw a beautiful mystery. I wondered what kind of man my boy would grow to be and what his life would be like. There are those in the scientific community who would argue that my son's path was already determined at the moment of his birth, that his fate could be deciphered from his genetic make-up. As a nurturing mother I know better. At two years old my son has developed a more diverse vocabulary than many children twice or even three times his age. He recognizes many written words and reads them aloud. He is able to spell his name. He can distinguish a square from a rectangle and an octagon
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Many scholars believe that "the new science of behavioral genetics has intellectual roots in the old ideas of Eugenics" (Steen 33). Eugenics disguised a political agenda as a scientific one in an attempt to endow discrimination with credibility. Supporters of genetic determinism theories do the same. Richard Herrnstein and Charles Murray defend the theory of genetic determinism in The Bell Curve: Intelligence and Class Structure in American Life, which was published ten years ago. Their book is one of the most widely referenced works regarding the theory that intelligence is inherited. The authors claim that the social order mirrors natural selection, wherein the genetically superior or more intelligent human rises to the top. Of course this means that the lower class, predominantly blacks, are represented as genetically inferior (xxi-xxiii). The authors claim that "ethnic differences in cognitive ability are neither surprising nor in doubt" (269) and attribute the inequality of life among Americans to inherent differences between races in intelligence (127). Their argument rests on the assertion that intelligence is both inheritable and immutable and is supported by intelligence test scores. The text is full of contradictions and a close analysis proves it to be lacking in evidence and smacking of social myth. Their theories are developed using speculation and are tainted by bias. There is no science involved.
The theory of inherent
One’s intelligence cannot simply be measured based on his or her educational background. Intellect is spawned from within based on an individual’s experience and desire for additional knowledge. In the article, "Blue-Collar Brilliance", Mike rose contends the egocentric notion regarding what makes an individual intelligent; western civilization has drug on their fascistic opinions since earlier times. Everything including one 's intellectual capabilities has been measured by a hierarchy designed by the white man in order to oppress non-white civilization. Our intellectual capacity is bigger than a formal education; Intelligence that is acquired outside of the classroom is commensurate to those who have solemn educations.
Gladwell reveals that to excel in the world, one must be born with or introduced to the right tools. These tools may include being born into a high class home, when one is born, as well as being recognized early in school. When Lewis Terman, in 1921, conducted the Genetic Study of Genius observation, he only took into account the subjects I.Q. scores. It wasn’t until later, when he noticed the divergence of three different groups A, B, and C, did he realize that it wasn’t only about scores. The groups were separated by societal class, group A born from the high end of the scale while C was from the lower end. Group A, as well as most of B, did superb at the same time that group C fell out. Intelligence
Bell, and then traces the development of state-ordered coerced sterilization. She then moves on to define and critique the arguments made by Murray and Herrnstein in their book The Bell Curve. The book she discusses posits that there is a link between race and intelligence, and goes even further to give recommendations on policies that should be implemented to keep intelligence from declining. She also connects eugenic sterilization and the propositions in The Bell Curve are to the topic of responsible reproduction. The article concludes by Miller showing that the arguments made in The Bell Curve are an example of negative
In 1968 Rosenthal and Jacobson visited an elementary school and gave IQ tests to all of the students. They ended up randomly picking 20% of the students in the school and identified them as having especially high potential for academic achievement. As the school year went on towards the end the students ended up getting retested. The students who were labeled as bright earlier in the year ended up scoring higher than their peers. The teachers had high expectations for these students which could have led to the students seeing different material which expected more from them. The children most likely acted different also after they found out what was expected from them. So, all of the expectations that everyone had for these children actually
Labeling bias exists when a test claims to measure one thing but actually measures something else. Tests that claim to assess such traits as “aptitude” or “intelligence” imply that they are measuring something innate, given that many people assume that these traits are genetic. However, Jencks notes that “almost all psychologists now agree that while an individual’s score on an intelligence or aptitude test depends partly on his or her genetic makeup, it also reflects a multitude of environmental influences” (p. 56). Thus, such tests are racially biased estimates of the innate traits that most laypeople think these tests are purporting to evaluate. Fortunately, this bias can be eliminated by simply changing the names of what these tests claim to measure.
Is this the child that you have envisioned in your future? Or maybe did you see your child with brown eyes rather than blue? Maybe more intellectually gifted? Or with the promise of performing well in sport?
In North America, over 80% of our food contains genetically modified organisms (GMOs). So if you are not buying foods that are Non-GMO verified, there are most likely GMOs present in your breakfast, lunch, and dinner. For most people it probably doesn’t even cross their minds that they are eating genetically modified food because it is something that we have become accustomed to. We just eat what is put in front of us and think nothing of it or where it actually comes from.
In the early days of child psychology, one of the current thoughts on the development of infants was the eugenics movement where it is believed that genes play the most important role in how a person will turn out. Arnold Gesell believed that a child’s environment has an influence on how he/she expresses him/herself, but that genetics is the main determinant of their behavior. Gesell also believes that human beings develop through many stages. Thus if your child is misbehaving, don’t worry he is “just going through a stage; he’ll outgrow it.” (Schuster, 1980, 19).
The world of Genetics is one that is both fascinating and interesting. When tackling how genetics plays a role in behavior, one must look within the scope of what genetics is before dealing with how it plays a significant role in one’s behavior. Simply put, genetics is the study of genes. It is a biological component within the entire study of biology itself. Scientists who study genetics and perform research do so with the intent to learn more about how genetics affects the overall attitudes, behaviors and dispositions of individuals. It could be said that genetics is somewhat of a psychological-biological science as researchers look at the underlying patterns within the genes that cause
Intelligence is used by everyone to help them in everyday life. Where people get their intelligence, however, is debatable. A person is born with an amount of inherited intelligence; this intelligence is considered nature, genetic, or heredity. Then there is intelligence that comes from the ability to learn from experience; this intelligence is impacted by nurture or the environment. It is known that both genetic and environmental factors determine intelligence, but the subject is controversial among professionals. Does nature or nurture have a bigger impact on intelligence? Is it true that some people are born with high intelligence, but are limited by their environment? Given the proper tools, can a person increase their intelligence? How accurate are IQ tests?
Parents today enroll their children in the best possible schools and will do anything to make sure their children look up to standards. Possibly in a few decades parents would be able to choose from a plethora of traits: hair color, eye color, bigger muscles and so on that their children could obtain. Maybe they'd like to add a few inches to a child's height. Or improve their kid's chances at longevity by tweaking inherited DNA. Planning the child’s genetic future could really give him/her a head start in life.
The nineteenth century saw the start of the scientific debate in which brain size was presumed to indicate intelligence. Which in turn lead some scientists to the conclusion that men, having on average a larger brain size than women, may be more intelligent.
Human character and behaviour are not only shaped by the genes that encompass the individual’s genotype. Human character comprising mainly of personality, sexuality, morality and intelligence are the products of genetic determinism as well as external environmental factors. “Single genes can have surprisingly strong influences on particular aspects of behaviour.” (Frank., 2009)
There is a perplexing gap between the understanding that babies are born with innate characteristics and the understanding that they inherit these characteristics from their parents. Besides, the puzzling gap between the understandings that a baby is born with inborn characteristics that they inherit from their parents (Harris, 2000).
One of the most interesting and controversial areas in behavioral genetics, human intelligence is currently assumed to be subject to both genetic and environmental influences.