DNA & Destiny Nature & Nurture In Human Behavior

by Steen, R. Grant

• ISBN13: 9780738206196
• ISBN10: 0738206199
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2001-10-15
• Publisher: Da Capo Press

Summary

The Bell Curve has sparked a fiery debate over the origins of human intelligence and the roots of human behavior. Does nature determine intelligence so completely that we should give up on the disadvantaged? Or can intelligence and positive human behavior be fostered by intellectual nourishment and emotional support? In short, to what degree is DNA our destiny? Dr. Grant Steen - popular science writer and respected medical researcher - has drawn together the best and most cutting-edge research to gain insight into the effect of genes and the environment. He provides up-to-the-minute answers to some of the most important and explosive questions facing society today: How much of intelligence is inherited and how much is it a result of environment? Is violence borne in the genes or does it result from poor upbringing? Is homosexuality an inborn trait? What role does gender play in our intellectual abilities? What evidence is there that alcoholism and drug addiction are hereditary? This book shows that, to understand the human condition better, we must develop a keener appreciation for the subtle interactions between nature and nurture. First, Dr. Steen confronts the dark history of eugenics, and the horrifying legacy of the Nazis. He then proceeds to illuminate the latest advances in molecular biology and behavioral genetics. He explains fascinating results that have emerged from "split-twin" experiments, in which eerie parallels were found between twins separated at birth. He clarifies how the Human Genome Project might help create a new understanding of the human condition and how it may ultimately help alleviate some of the major health and even behavioral problems facing society today.

Author Biography

Dr. R. Grant Steen is currently studying brain cancer at the St. Judge Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. He is an expert in tumor physiology and tumor cell biology, and his research interest is the metabolic imaging of cancer. He employs magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to estimate tumor perfusion, in an effort to predict tumor drug delivery. He received his doctorate from the University of California at Los Angeles, and he was furthur trained in research at the California Institute of Technology and the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He taught at the University of Washington, where he was an Assistant Professor of Radiology and of Bioengineering, and he has written more than 25 papers which appeared in scientific journals.

Table of Contents

Genes and Human Behavior	1	(20)
The Old Nature versus Nurture Debate	21	(12)
The Dark History of Eugenics	33	(16)
The Nature of Nurture: Defining Environmental Influences	49	(14)
New Tools for an Old Problem	63	(16)
New Improvements in the Old Tools	79	(14)
The Inheritance of Disease: A Paradigm for the Inheritance of Behavior?	93	(20)
Intelligence	113	(24)
Mental Disorders	137	(24)
Personality Traits	161	(24)
Sexual Orientation	185	(18)
Alcoholism and Addictive Behavior	203	(14)
Crime and Violence	217	(22)
Sex, Genes, and Testosterone	239	(22)
Biology and Social Responsibility	261	(18)
Epilogue	279	(4)
References	283	(10)
Index	293