Biology is destiny

Published: 12 Nov 2009

Biology is destiny

Background

Traditionally, human nature was thought of as predetermined and divinely ordained. The differences between men and women were attributed to God's design as were the differences between "superior" and "inferior" races. From the mid to late 1800s following the scientific discoveries of the role of inheritance and natural selection by Mendel and Darwin, human characteristics came to be seen as products of evolution – “nature”. However the late nineteenth century also saw the rise of theories that human nature, intelligence and behaviour are primarily determined by social environment – “nurture”.

In the mid-20th century both schools of thought got a bad name. The "nature" hypothesis (hereafter Nature Theory) became tarnished by association with the Nazis who pursued an agenda based on claimed innate superiority of one race over others. The “nurture” hypothesis (hereafter Nurture Theory), on the other hand, was taken up by Communists who saw human identity as something to be manipulated and shaped by social structures – with effects that were arguably equally disastrous. Yet the nature vs nurture debate continues to rage as scientists fight over how much of who we are is shaped by genes and how much by the environment.

The Nature Theory has received a boost in recent years from advances in genetic research. Newspaper and television reports often feature reports that scientists have uncovered evidence for the genetic basis of psychological characteristics and patterns of behaviour, such as violence and criminality, or sexual orientation and gender roles and behaviour. James Watson (co-discoverer of the structure of DNA and former head of the Human Genome Project) has said, "We used to think that our fate was in our stars. Now we know, in large part, that our fate is in our genes."

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