Are We Slaves to our Genes?

Erscheinungsjahr 2020
ISBN: 978-1-108-42633-6
Verlag: Cambridge University Press

Buch, Englisch, 275 Seiten, Format (B × H): 152 mm x 229 mm, Gewicht: 540 g

There is a common misconception that our genomes - all unique, except for those in identical twins - have the upper hand in controlling our destiny. The latest genetic discoveries, however, do not support that view. Although genetic variation does influence differences in various human behaviours to a greater or lesser degree, most of the time this does not undermine our genuine free will. Genetic determinism comes into play only in various medical conditions, notably some psychiatric syndromes. Denis Alexander here demonstrates that we are not slaves to our genes. He shows how a predisposition to behave in certain ways is influenced at a molecular level by particular genes. Yet a far greater influence on our behaviours is our world-views that lie beyond science - and that have an impact on how we think the latest genetic discoveries should, or should not, be applied. Written in an engaging style, Alexander's book offers tools for understanding and assessing the latest genetic discoveries critically.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Alexander, Denis R

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Religionswissenschaft Religionswissenschaft Allgemein Religionsphilosophie, Philosophische Theologie
• Interdisziplinäres Wissenschaften Wissenschaften Interdisziplinär Religion & Wissenschaft
• Geisteswissenschaften Philosophie Wissenschaftstheorie, Wissenschaftsphilosophie
• Naturwissenschaften Biowissenschaften Biowissenschaften Bioethik, Tierethik
• Geisteswissenschaften Philosophie Angewandte Ethik & Soziale Verantwortung Bioethik, Tierethik
• Geisteswissenschaften Philosophie Religionsphilosophie, Philosophische Theologie
• Geisteswissenschaften Religionswissenschaft Religionswissenschaft Allgemein Religion & Wissenschaft
• Geisteswissenschaften Religionswissenschaft Religionswissenschaft Allgemein Religionsethik, Weltethos

Inhaltsverzeichnis

List of Figures; Preface; 1. Genetic Confusion; 2. Genetic Information and How It Flows; 3. Genes and Environments in Human Development; 4. What is Behavioural Genetics?; 5. Genes and Mental Health; 6. Genes, Education and Intelligence; 7. Genes, Personality and Personality Disorders; 8. Genes, Food, Exercise, Fat and Thin; 9. Genes, Religiosity and Political Commitment; 10. Gay Genes? Genetics and Sexual Orientation; 11. Are We Slaves to our Genes?; 12. Genes and Human Identity; Endnotes; Definitions of Technical Terms; Bibliography; Index.

Über Autor(innen)

Alexander, Denis R
Denis Alexander is the Founding Director (Emeritus) of The Faraday Institute and Emeritus Fellow of St. Edmund's College, Cambridge. The former chair of the Molecular Immunology Programme at The Babraham Institute in Cambridge, he helped to establish the National Unit of Human Genetics at the American University Hospital in Beirut. Lebanon. He is the author of Genes, Determinism, and God (2017).