Biological determinism
Encyclopedia
Genetic determinism
Genetic determinism is the belief that genes determine morphological and behavioral traits and do so with little or no influence from environmental factors....
. Another definition is that biological determinism is the hypothesis
Hypothesis
A hypothesis is a proposed explanation for a phenomenon. The term derives from the Greek, ὑποτιθέναι – hypotithenai meaning "to put under" or "to suppose". For a hypothesis to be put forward as a scientific hypothesis, the scientific method requires that one can test it...
that biological factors such as an organism's individual genes (as opposed to social or environmental factors) completely determine how a system
System
System is a set of interacting or interdependent components forming an integrated whole....
behaves or changes over time.
Consider certain human behaviors, such as having a particular taste in music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
, committing murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
, or writing poetry
Poetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
. A biological determinist would posit that such behaviours, and personality traits in general, are mediated primarily by biological factors, such as genetic makeup
Genotype
The genotype is the genetic makeup of a cell, an organism, or an individual usually with reference to a specific character under consideration...
. An extreme variant of biological determinism might assert that an organism's behavior is determined entirely by biological factors, and that all of these factors are innate to that organism e.g. DNA
DNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...
. By asserting that biological factors are the primary determinants of behaviour, biological determinism implies of course that non-biological factors, such as social custom
Convention (norm)
A convention is a set of agreed, stipulated or generally accepted standards, norms, social norms or criteria, often taking the form of a custom....
s, expectations and education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
, have less or no effect on behaviour. Similarly, a variant of biological determinism might consider non-innate biological factors, such as the biological aspects of an organism's environment, to have a lesser effect on the organism's behaviour than innate biological factors.
Biologists sometimes regard a charge of biological determinism as a straw man
Straw man
A straw man is a component of an argument and is an informal fallacy based on misrepresentation of an opponent's position, twisting his words or by means of [false] assumptions...
, as there is currently no support for strict biological determinism in the field of genetics
Genetics
Genetics , a discipline of biology, is the science of genes, heredity, and variation in living organisms....
or development
Developmental biology
Developmental biology is the study of the process by which organisms grow and develop. Modern developmental biology studies the genetic control of cell growth, differentiation and "morphogenesis", which is the process that gives rise to tissues, organs and anatomy.- Related fields of study...
, and virtually no support among geneticists for the strong thesis of biological determinism. 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.
In terms of the nature versus nurture
Nature versus nurture
The nature versus nurture debate concerns the relative importance of an individual's innate qualities versus personal experiences The nature versus nurture debate concerns the relative importance of an individual's innate qualities ("nature," i.e. nativism, or innatism) versus personal experiences...
debate, biological determinism is approximately analogous to the "nature" argument, and social determinism
Social determinism
Social determinism is the hypothesis that social interactions and constructs alone determine individual behavior ....
is similar to the "nurture" view-point. However, the tendency to see biological determinism and social determinism as polar opposites is rather misleading. Indeed, the two theories are similar in that they postulate that behaviour is, at least to some extent, pre-determined. In this sense the opposite of the biological and social determinism theories, could be said to be that of randomness i.e. the theory that there are no factors which influence behaviour (c.f. free will
Free will
"To make my own decisions whether I am successful or not due to uncontrollable forces" -Troy MorrisonA pragmatic definition of free willFree will is the ability of agents to make choices free from certain kinds of constraints. The existence of free will and its exact nature and definition have long...
). The key difference between the theories of biological and social determinism lies in their appraisal of the extent to which a variety of factors may influence behaviour.
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
Richard Lewontin
Richard Charles "Dick" Lewontin is an American evolutionary biologist, geneticist and social commentator. A leader in developing the mathematical basis of population genetics and evolutionary theory, he pioneered the notion of using techniques from molecular biology such as gel electrophoresis to...
's Biology as Ideology: The Doctrine of DNA (1991). 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.
Proponents of eugenics, depending of biological determinism, wanted to improve the human species through compulsory sterilization of criminals, the mentally retarded, and others deemed social misfits.
See also
- Anthropological criminologyAnthropological criminologyAnthropological criminology is a field of offender profiling, based on perceived links between the nature of a crime and the personality or physical appearance of the offender...
- Biological determination (sociology)Biological determination (sociology)The principle that behavioral differences are the result of inherited physical characteristics.The natural-masculinity thesis requires strong biological determination of group differences in complex social behaviors . There is no evidence at all of strong determination in this sense...
- Conscious RobotsConscious RobotsConscious Robots is a book exploring hard determinism written by Paul Kwatz and published in 2005. Kwatz argues that the illusion of free will can be dispelled by considering our personal experience and scientific knowledge....
- EpigeneticsEpigeneticsIn biology, and specifically genetics, epigenetics is the study of heritable changes in gene expression or cellular phenotype caused by mechanisms other than changes in the underlying DNA sequence – hence the name epi- -genetics...
- EugenicsEugenicsEugenics is the "applied science or the bio-social movement which advocates the use of practices aimed at improving the genetic composition of a population", usually referring to human populations. The origins of the concept of eugenics began with certain interpretations of Mendelian inheritance,...
- Evolutionary psychologyEvolutionary psychologyEvolutionary psychology is an approach in the social and natural sciences that examines psychological traits such as memory, perception, and language from a modern evolutionary perspective. It seeks to identify which human psychological traits are evolved adaptations, that is, the functional...
- Mudsill theoryMudsill theoryMudsill 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...
- Nature versus nurtureNature versus nurtureThe nature versus nurture debate concerns the relative importance of an individual's innate qualities versus personal experiences The nature versus nurture debate concerns the relative importance of an individual's innate qualities ("nature," i.e. nativism, or innatism) versus personal experiences...
- Social determinismSocial determinismSocial determinism is the hypothesis that social interactions and constructs alone determine individual behavior ....
- SociobiologySociobiologySociobiology is a field of scientific study which is based on the assumption that social behavior has resulted from evolution and attempts to explain and examine social behavior within that context. Often considered a branch of biology and sociology, it also draws from ethology, anthropology,...
- Criminal Tribes ActCriminal Tribes ActThe term Criminal Tribes Act applies to various successive pieces of legislation enforced in India during British rule; the first enacted in 1871 as applied mostly in North India The Act was extended to Bengal Presidency and other areas in 1876, and finally with the Criminal Tribes Act 1911, it...
Further Reading
- Velden, Manfred (2010). Biologism: The consequence of an illusion. Göttingen: V&R unipress. ISBN 978-3-89971-748-8