By James Tabery Beyond Versus: The Struggle to Understand the Interaction of Nature and Nurture (Life and Mind: Phil [Hardcover]

by James Tabery

Why the “nature versus nurture” debate persists despite widespread recognition that human traits arise from the interaction of nature and nurture. If everyone now agrees that human traits arise not from nature or nurture but from the interaction of nature and nurture, why does the “nature versus nurture” debate persist? In Beyond Versus , James Tabery argues that the persistence stems from a century-long struggle to understand the interaction of nature and nurture—a struggle to define what the interaction of nature and nurture is, how it should be investigated, and what counts as evidence for it. Tabery examines past episodes in the nature versus nurture debates, offers a contemporary philosophical perspective on them, and considers the future of research on the interaction of nature and nurture. From the eugenics controversy of the 1930s and the race and IQ controversy of the 1970s to the twenty-first-century debate over the causes of depression, Tabery argues, the polarization in these discussions can be attributed to what he calls an “explanatory divide”—a disagreement over how explanation works in science, which in turn has created two very different concepts of interaction. Drawing on recent developments in the philosophy of science, Tabery offers a way to bridge this explanatory divide and these different concepts integratively. Looking to the future, Tabery evaluates the ethical issues that surround genetic testing for genes implicated in interactions of nature and nurture, pointing to what the future does (and does not) hold for a science that continues to make headlines and raise controversy.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction, Genetics, Biology, Science

Hardcover

First published January 1, 2014

Reviews

[Tien Manh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book on history of eugenics, molecular/quantitative genetics and the academic debates surrounding "Nature vs nurture".

Anyone who is interested in biology will know that there is no such thing as nurture "versus" nature. Instead, all human behavior results from a combination of the two. But the academics have long debated on what this "interaction" was, with one side dismissing it as a "statistical nuisance" (the variance-partitioning approach), the other regarding interaction as key to understanding the relationship between genes and behavior. The author then bridges these two explanations, giving a (philosophical) argument, and recommends future research to build upon the two ways of thinking.

There's a bit of bioethics at the end. Would a parent raise a dog or a cat in their home, given their child's genetic screening results?

Didn't agree with everything in the book, but it was well written. Not exactly 5/5, but I liked the topics enough!

p.s not easy read

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book overall.

The last two chapters are really well put together. The majority of the book goes over the conflicts of opinion regarding early research into genetical/environmental factors on behaviour and health.