Free will for me. Determinism (genetic or environmental) for thee.
Chris Green
currently in Montreal... reading and enjoying _The Spirit Level: Why
Equlaity is Better for Everyone_, in which Oliver James is occasionally
cited, which I am sure will rankle Allen's apparently reflexive Toryism. :-)
=================
Rick Froman wrote:
I don't see any evidence that either right or left wingers really are motivated
to find the ultimate causes of behavior in either genetics or environment. The
majority still feel that such explanations de-humanize and violate human
freedom and responsibility. I think that is true for the majority of both left
and right and, despite what they might think about the causes of other's
behavior, very few act as if they believe their own behaviors are not largely
freely chosen.
To find evidence of both left and right support for genetic explanations, one need look no further than http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugenics. As Wikipedia is reflective of the wisdom of the crowds (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wisdom_of_Crowds), no critical thinking required).
Fear the Beard!
Rick
Dr. Rick Froman, Chair
Division of Humanities and Social Sciences
John Brown University
Siloam Springs, AR 72761
[email protected]
________________________________________
From: Mike Palij [[email protected]]
Sent: Saturday, October 16, 2010 11:29 AM
To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS)
Cc: Mike Palij
Subject: RE: Re:[tips] Are Genes Left-Wing?
.
Re: (2) Except that genetic explanations have a long history in right-wing
politics and environmental explanation have a long history in left-wing
politics. As we learn more about gene-environment interactions, the
overly simplistic conceptions of nature vs nurture ideologies will have to
be reworked. But, just as creationsists will not find any scientific evidence
that undermines creation science to be credible, eugenics-oriented
right wingers will not be deterred by evidence that their conceptions
of "bad genes" are invalid. Left-wingers, I think, should be cautious
in embracing genetic explanations unless the research is really, really
good.
---
---
You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected].
To unsubscribe click here:
http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df5d5&n=T&l=tips&o=5735
or send a blank email to
leave-5735-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
