Wednesday, August 05, 2015

Nature vs. Nurture



There is a new Singapore study out that suggests that our political leanings are predetermined by our genes ... in particular the DRD4 gene variants that control how dopamine is released in our brains ... particularly for females ... see: Physics Magazine Article. Apparently, just like sexual orientation is claimed to be determined during fertilization, one's political leanings can likewise be pre-programmed.

I am not claiming that this is junk science, but such a nature-over-nurture manifesto bothers me quite a bit. It allows people to drift through life shirking responsibility for their life decisions ... kinda like Flip Wilson's perennial excuse, "The devil made me do it." Wasn't it Aristotle who said that mankind was bestowed with "right reason" and we need not be a slave to our nature? This notion was later reinforced by Cicero and Thomas Aquinas ... see: Wikipedia Entry.

It seems to this observer that how one is raised and how one takes it upon oneself to improve oneself has a lot more to do with success in life, than winning the "lucky-sperm" contest.

Afterthought: And Milton had some thoughts on "right reason" in Paradise Lost ... see: Google Books Quote.

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