Biological determinism

A 1920s display comparing brain types to criminality.

Biological determinism, also called genetic determinism, is the hypothesis that biological factors such as an organism's individual genes (as opposed to social or environmental factors) completely determine how a system behaves or changes over time. A hypothesis (from Greek) consists either of a suggested explanation for a phenomenon (an event that is observable or of a reasoned proposal suggesting a possible System (from Latin systēma, in turn from Greek systēma is a set of interacting or interdependent Entities, real or abstract

Consider certain human behaviors, such as having a particular taste in music, committing murder, or writing poetry. Music is an Art form in which the medium is Sound organized in Time. Murder is the unlawful killing of another human person with Malice aforethought, as defined in Common Law countries A biological determinist would look only at innate factors, such as genetic makeup, in deciding whether or not a given person would exhibit these behaviors. The genotype is the genetic constitution of a cell an organism or an individual (i They would ignore non-innate factors, such as social customs and expectations, education, and physical environment. A convention is a set of agreed, stipulated or generally accepted Standards norms social norms or criteria, often taking the form of Education encompasses both the Teaching and Learning of Knowledge, proper conduct, and technical competency See also Nature The natural environment, commonly referred to simply as the environment, is a terminology that is comprised of all living and

Biologists sometimes regard a charge of biological determinism as a straw man, as there is currently no support for strict biological determinism in the field of genetics or development, and virtually no support among geneticists for the strong thesis of biological determinism. A biologist is a Scientist devoted to and producing results in Biology through the study of Organisms Typically biologists study organisms and their relationship A straw man argument is an Informal fallacy based on misrepresentation of an opponent's position Genetics (from Ancient Greek grc-Latn genetikos, “genitive” and that from grc-Latn genesis, “origin” a discipline of Biology, is Developmental Biology is the official journal of the Society for Developmental Biology. A geneticist is a scientist who studies Genetics, the science of Heredity and variation of Organisms A geneticist can be employed as a researcher However, individual scientists may disagree as to the role that genetic and environmental factors play. Modern genetics, in large part, is concerned with studying the dialogue between genes and environment.

Biological determinism is the opposite of social determinism. Social determinism is the concept that the social circumstances at a particular moment in time determine which technologies are adopted and how

A critique has been developed against the uncritical use of biological determinism or biology as ideology (something that has been termed "biologism"). The most famous book on the subject is Richard Lewontin's "Biology as Ideology: The Doctrine of DNA" (1991). Richard Charles "Dick" Lewontin (born March 29, 1929) is an American Evolutionary biologist Lewontin argued that while traditional Darwinism has portrayed the organism as passive recipient of environmental influences, a correct understanding should emphasize the organism as an active constructer of its own environment. Niches are not pre-formed, empty receptacles into which organisms are inserted, but are defined and created by organisms. The organism-environment relationship is reciprocal and dialectical.

Cultural determinism is the belief that the culture in which we are raised determines who we are at emotional and behavioral levels Environmental determinism, also known as climatic determinism or geographical determinism, is the view that the physical environment rather than social conditions In Biology, the term epigenetics refers to changes in Gene expression caused by mechanisms other than changes in the underlying DNA sequence Eugenics is a social Philosophy which advocates the improvement of Human Hereditary traits through various forms of intervention Genetic determinism is the belief that Genes determine physical and behavioral Phenotypes The term may be applied to the mapping of a single gene to a single phenotype The nature versus nurture debates concern the relative importance of an individual's innate qualities ("nature" i Sociobiology is a neo-Darwinian and Socialism Synthesis of Scientific disciplines that attempts to explain Social behavior Social determinism is the concept that the social circumstances at a particular moment in time determine which technologies are adopted and how Mudsill theory is a sociological theory which proposes that there must be and always has been a Lower class for the Upper classes to rest upon Feminism is a discourse that involves various movements theories, and Philosophies which are concerned with the issue of Gender difference, advocate

© 2009 citizendia.org; parts available under the terms of GNU Free Documentation License, from http://en.wikipedia.org
network: | |