Amazon.com
In the follow-up to his bestseller, Genome, Matt Ridley takes on a centuries-old question: is it nature or nurture that makes us who we are? Ridley asserts that the question itself is a "false dichotomy." Using copious examples from human and animal behavior, he presents the notion that our environment affects the way our genes express themselves.
Ridley writes that the switches controlling our 30,000 or so genes not only form the structures of our brains but do so in such a way as to cue off the outside environment in a tidy feedback loop of body and behavior. In fact, it seems clear that we have genetic "thermostats" that are turned up and down by environmental factors. He challenges both scientific and folk concepts, from assumptions of what's malleable in a person to sociobiological theories based solely on the "selfish gene."
Ridley's proof is in the pudding for such touchy subjects as monogamy, aggression, and parenting, which we now understand have some genetic controls. Nevertheless, "the more we understand both our genes and our instincts, the less inevitable they seem." A consummate popularizer of science, Ridley once again provides a perfect mix of history, genetics, and sociology for readers hungry to understand the implications of the human genome sequence. --Therese Littleton
Book Description
Armed with extraordinary new discoveries about our genes, acclaimed science writer Matt Ridley turns his attention to the nature-versus-nurture debate in a thoughtful book about the roots of human behavior.
Ridley recounts the hundred years' war between the partisans of nature and nurture to explain how this paradoxical creature, the human being, can be simultaneously free-willed and motivated by instinct and culture. With the decoding of the human genome, we now know that genes not only predetermine the broad structure of the brain, they also absorb formative experiences, react to social cues, and even run memory. They are consequences as well as causes of the will.
Customer Reviews:
An interesting, light read.......2007-05-10
In "The Agile Gene: How Nature Turns on Nurture" (previously published as "Nature via Nurture") Matt Ridley explores how the modern understanding of the genome recasts the boundaries of the age-old nature versus nurture debate. Nature versus nurture is a long, intense and often highly charged, intellectual debate but Ridley shows it to be a false dichotomy. The two sides are not mutually exclusive. Genes (on the nature side of the equation) enable the acquisition of environmental influences (nurture) and the environmental influences in turn exert their effects by changing the patterns of gene expression. Ever since the work of Francois Jacob and Jacques Monod at the Institut Pasteur on the genetic control of enzyme synthesis in E. coli bacteria, it has been appropriate to think about genes in terms of 'switches'. Jacob and Monod had shown that in the absence of lactose (a milk sugar) the E. coli bacterium does not bother to produce the enzyme which processes lactose. This is because the gene for that enzyme is effectively turned off by what's called a `repressor protein'. However, in the presence of lactose this repressor protein is inactivated and the gene in question begins to churn out the required enzyme. This work showed that the control of gene expression could be tuned by the bacterium's environment. The gene was not just a template for the production of proteins - it was also a switch. As the psychologist Gary Marcus has pointed out, genes function like IF-THEN lines of code in a computer program. The IF refers to the regulatory portion of the gene and THEN refers to the protein template region.
Ridley's book is an interesting historical look at the nature-nurture debate and how either one or the other extreme has waxed and waned in popularity - from Francis Galton and the eugenics movement to the ideological blank slate views of 20th century social scientists to modern developments in evolutionary psychology which attempt to balance the debate and bring it in line with our current knowledge of how genes work. He also discusses some of the most interesting findings to emerge from the study of the genome, particularly as these findings pertain to issues of behavioral genetics. This includes an overview of the CREB genes which are necessary for the modification of neural circuits in learning and memory, the FOXP2 gene whose mutation in humans has been implicated in the development of language, the role of the BDNF gene in neuroticism and many others. The writing is accessible to a general audience as it does not delve into the biochemical details of how these genes perform their work but rather discusses the implications of the findings. Ridley also lightens the reading with anecdotal details about some of the scientists involved and the ways in which some of the discoveries were made.
As in "The Genome", Ridley appears to stumble a bit when he attempts to discuss the really big philosophical issues like free will. His attempt to explain how genes enable free will is not convincing and the argument that he tries to make does not seem all that clear even to Ridley himself. It is also of some interest that Ridley, like several others, paints Freud as an 'environmentalist'. The extent to which Freud's was a blank slate world is certainly debatable. The historian of science, Frank Sulloway, in his book "Freud, Biologist of the Mind" shows how Freud was far less of a `blank slater' than some might think.
All in all Ridley's book is a light and highly accesible read on an interesting and still controversial topic. It is a bit skimpy on the details and it is far from being an exhaustive treatment on the subject but as far as popular science writing is concerned, it is recommended.
Sheds light on various nature versus nurture arguments.......2006-11-10
Science writer Matt Ridley is a must read for anyone wanting to understand new discoveries about genes, and how they influence us throughout our lives. "The Agile Gene" is not as illuminating and captivating as the other Matt Ridley books (his best works are "The Origins of Human Virtue" and "The Red Queen: Sex and the Evolution of Human Nature"). You'll get a broader and deeper understanding of nature vs. nuture from the other books if you are interested in understanding how genes effect human relations in societies, and civilizations. This book, however, is of particular interest if you want to understand how genes can effect an individual throughout ones life.
For example, the book is dedicated to supporting Ridley's comments like the following: "the influence of genes increases and the influence of shared environment gradually disappears with age. The older you grow, the less your family background predicts your IQ and the better your genes predict it." or "the shared environment plays only a small and non-significant role in the creation of personality differences in adults."
If you are interested in knowing how Ridley can support such statements, and his arguments either way, then this book is for you.
Nature through Nurture through Nature in an Endless Series of Adaptations.......2006-08-02
Note: This book was originally published as "Nature via Nurture."
Ridley is a journalist with an impeccable and broad understanding of "sociobiology." He is capable of distilling a broad array of sociobiological phenomena so that the layman can grasp what science is doing behind those polysyllabic and arcane words. This is yet another of his home runs.
Another Ridley home run! He's batting a thousand. Not bad for a popularizer of science.
Don't let the book's title fool you. If Ridley merely resolved the nurture/nature debate, which most of us already know, the book might be a bust. However, Ridley's means of resolution is an unsuspected, yet dramatic, one. The book's strengths lie in applying the resolution of this dilemma to other dilemmas. Not that this approach "answers" these dilemmas; indeed, maybe the reverse, it seems to complicate them. Therein lies the book's brilliance and novelty, while being entirely scientific.
For example, 18th C. philosopher David Hume raised doubts about humans' causal inferences, i.e., "cause-and-effect." E.g. The light goes out (effect). Caused by what: the filament, the glass, the wiring, the switch, the panel, or maybe something else? Many people, including scientists, dismissed Hume's skepticism as extreme and anti-scientific. Ridley's Fourth Chapter vindicates Hume, more dramatically than Hume himself (or Popper in 1944). The subject for discussion is "schizophrenia." The perennial nature/nurture debate and the theories its drawn are investigated, and given Ridley's insight and science's "evidence," the putative "cause(s)" of schizophrenia are all found wanting. How wanting? Incredibly wanting. But ironically, it's not all wrong. Mostly wrong. And it's revealed in, through, and by the prism of nature/nurture dispute, seen through the topic of schizophrenia. (The subject of causality in human behavior makes an important reappearance later.)
[N.B. A cautionary note. Chap. 3 seemed uncharacteristically long-winded and redundant. It passes and never recurs.]
Ridley's encyclopedic knowledge (what field of knowledge does he not know?) is breathtaking. His ability to coordinate all this diverse, even disparate, knowledge in defense of this thesis is extraordinary. To keep all the scientific jargon on an accessible level is masterful. To use an artful device with elegant prose adds creativity and imagination. The implications of these insights are even more stunning. Science does not get better than this!
Educational.......2006-07-11
The main thesis of this book was nothing new to me. The flow of concepts and explanations was often difficult for me to follow and I had to read them over a number of times before I felt I comprehended them - maybe his writing wasn't as clear as it could have been, or maybe because I'm getting older my mind isn't as sharp as it used to be. At any rate, I felt I learned a lot from reading this book. I hadn't realized that genes (or their resultant enzymes) might have such varying functions. The first bit of information which stood out in my mind was that Oxytocin could be the Love chemical. I was familiar with Oxytocin's function of precipitating the birth of a baby. The idea that it might be secreted by the pituitary during intercourse and thus result in the two individuals falling in love was new to me, and fascinating indeed. Or that it's presence might result in males being the faithful type rather than skirt chasers was also very interesting. There were a number of specific genes mentioned and how they played a part in talents, illnesses, or behavior. This information made me think and even modify some of my beliefs about what determines character. I've been leaning on the nurture side and now feel I am seeing better the part that nature plays (in conflicts, for example). So I feel this book has been very important to me. A disappointment was his pages on Free Will. I couldn't understand what the heck he was saying about this. Daniel Dennett is much easier to understand. Personally I don't feel that this knowledge about genes implies anything about questions like: Is there a God? What is consciousness? or Does Free Will exist? This book seems to me to be more about how living things function, regardless of the answers to such questions. How nature works and how living things function is fascinating stuff, and after reading this book I feel I have a clearer idea.
I should add that the results of studies he cites should be taken with a grain of salt. Mr. Ridley's writing is not that of a rigorous scientist. But even though he writes as though the conclusions he draws from the studies cited are clear and definite, and even though there is much room for doubt, his general positions as to what the genes do are in the ballpark of the functioning of the genes/enzymes which for me was the main value of this exposition.
Maddenly Engaging.......2006-07-10
Another Ridley home run! He's batting a thousand. Not bad for a popularizer of science.
Don't let the book's title fool you. If Ridley merely resolved the nurture/nature debate, which most of us already know, the book might be a bust. However, Ridley's means of resolution is an unsuspected, yet dramatic, one. The book's strengths lie in applying the resolution of this dilemma to other dilemmas. Not that this approach "answers" these dilemmas; indeed, maybe the reverse, it seems to complicate them. Therein lies the book's brilliance and novelty, while being entirely scientific.
For example, 18th C. philosopher David Hume raised doubts about humans' causal inferences, i.e., "cause-and-effect." E.g. The light goes out (effect). Caused by what: the filament, the glass, the wiring, the switch, the panel, or maybe something else? Many people, including scientists, dismissed Hume's skepticism as extreme and anti-scientific. Ridley's Fourth Chapter vindicates Hume, more dramatically than Hume himself (or Popper in 1944). The subject for discussion is "schizophrenia." The perennial nature/nurture debate and the theories its drawn are investigated, and given Ridley's insight and science's "evidence," the putative "cause(s)" of schizophrenia are all found wanting. How wanting? Incredibly wanting. But ironically, it's not all wrong. Mostly wrong. And it's revealed in, through, and by the prism of nature/nurture dispute, seen through the topic of schizophrenia. (The subject of causality in human behavior makes an important reappearance later.)
[N.B. A cautionary note. Chap. 3 seemed uncharacteristically long-winded and redundant. It passes and never recurs.]
Ridley's encyclopedic knowledge (what field of knowledge does he not know?) is breathtaking. His ability to coordinate all this diverse, even disparate, knowledge in defense of this thesis is extraordinary. To keep all the scientific jargon on an accessible level is masterful. To use an artful device with elegant prose adds creativity and imagination. The implications of these insights are even more stunning. Science does not get better than this!
Book Description
This groundbreaking volume synthesizes the results of the Virginia Adult Twin Study of Psychiatric and Substance Use Disorders, which yielded longitudinal data on more than 9,000 individuals. The authors trace how risk for depression, anxiety, eating disorders, antisocial behavior, alcoholism, and substance abuse emerges from the interplay of a variety of genetic and environmental influences. Major questions addressed include whether risk is disorder-specific, how to distinguish between correlational and causal genetic and environmental factors, sex differences in risk, and how risk and protective factors interact over time. The book also summarizes the conceptual underpinnings of the study and describes key methodological challenges and innovations.
Customer Reviews:
Best introduction to behaviour genetics .......2006-12-01
I've already leant more chapters of this book to students and colleagues than I can remember. Clearly written, concise and comprehensive, it is the best introduction to human behavioural quantitative genetics available. I'd recommend it to everyone with an interest in the genetic basis of behaviour.
Amazon.com
There is the Richard Lewontin nonbiologists know, the author of acerbic, thoughtful, witty, unhesitatingly leftist books such as Not in Our Genes and the essays from The New York Review of Books collected in It Ain't Necessarily So. This is the other Lewontin, the hardcore scientist, one of the most insightful evolutionary biologists going.
The Triple Helix is a manifesto for the life sciences: "The time has come when further progress in our understanding of nature requires that we reconsider the relationship between the outside and the inside, between organism and environment." Lewontin is not arguing for what he calls "obscurationist holism," but for a more complex interaction between gene, organism, and environment, in which they construct each other:
.... It is the biology, indeed the genes, of an organism that determines its effective environment, by establishing the way in which external physical signals become incorporated into its reactions.... Whatever the autonomous processes of the outer world may be, they cannot be perceived by the organism. Its life is determined by the shadows on the wall, passed through a transforming medium of its own creation.
Lewontin argues for a life science that faces up to reality, that tackles the problems of studying subtle processes in complex systems where three-dimensional shape is crucial. The journal Nature "cannot recommend [the book] too highly for the many commentators and headline writers who think that DNA is the blueprint for the organism"--or for their readers. --Mary Ellen Curtin
Book Description
One of our most brilliant evolutionary biologists, Richard Lewontin has also been a leading critic of those--scientists and non-scientists alike--who would misuse the science to which he has contributed so much. In The Triple Helix, Lewontin the scientist and Lewontin the critic come together to provide a concise, accessible account of what his work has taught him about biology and about its relevance to human affairs. In the process, he exposes some of the common and troubling misconceptions that misdirect and stall our understanding of biology and evolution.
The central message of this book is that we will never fully understand living things if we continue to think of genes, organisms, and environments as separate entities, each with its distinct role to play in the history and operation of organic processes. Here Lewontin shows that an organism is a unique consequence of both genes and environment, of both internal and external features. Rejecting the notion that genes determine the organism, which then adapts to the environment, he explains that organisms, influenced in their development by their circumstances, in turn create, modify, and choose the environment in which they live.
The Triple Helix is vintage Lewontin: brilliant, eloquent, passionate, and deeply critical. But it is neither a manifesto for a radical new methodology nor a brief for a new theory. It is instead a primer on the complexity of biological processes, a reminder to all of us that living things are never as simple as they may seem.
Customer Reviews:
Interesting book: OTHER things than DNA structure our lives.......2003-06-13
This an interesting book by an author who, pretty much, stopped writing when he completed his message.
His main message is that DNA is not the be-all and end-all when it comes to the structure of life. Other important factors are the conditions within the organism's cell (including what chemicals are present, and how the DNA folds), what the organism's environment is, and how the organism changes that environment.
Lewontin worries that because scientists can now easily analyze and manipulate genetic structure, scientists will overemphasize research on the DNA structure itself, leaving other important and significant biology unstudied.
The author also points out that while dramatic mutations are chosen to study mutations, many mutations aren't so dramatic, and that some of the "dramatic mutations" are in fact the combination of several lesser mutations.
The writing is unnecessarily complex in places, including one passage where the author claims "Causal claims are usually ceteris paribus, but in biology all other things are almost never equal." How many readers recognize the Latin phrase "ceteris paribus" ? The author also buys into the duality so common in discourse: _either_ DNA is the only important thing, _or_ DNA is a minor side-issue. What happened to the middle road?
Excellent non technical overview.......2002-05-11
Ok, so my review will be short. I believe this book is excelent since it accomplish to set clear why genetic determinism is wrong. Genes do not act by their own, they do so inside a cell which (at least in multicelular organisms) is just one more in millions (being that a prudent estimate to a small organism) whith whom it comunicates. Now, this is just part of the story, you still have to consider this organism lives in a specific habitat in which it develops (crucial step) and in which it feeds, moves (if it can), etc. So utimately genes are a full orchestra directed by surroundings.
I highly recomend this book to anyone interested in Molecular Biology, Genetics or Developmental Biology, it is basic but esential.
A triple knot for 'popular genetics'.......2001-07-16
Like everything else in life why should the reading of the Human Genome remain free discussion and debate on its merits and its false promises? THE TRIPLE HELIX like another recent book in the same vein - THE CENTURY OF THE GENE, - take it as their duty to throw cold water on all the happy gene talk in recent popular science books.
The Human Genome Project is not the primary target for criticism here; what Mr Lewontin objects to is the simplified approach of popular biology that insists on treating genes, organisms, and environments as distinctly seperate. Instead "taken together, the relations of genes, organisms, and environment are reciprocal relations in which all three elements are both cause and effects. Genes and environment are both causes of organisms, which are, in turn, causes of environments, so that genes become causes of environments as mediated by the organism." Quite plainly he says that organisms alter, modify, or in some cases create, their environments. Therefore in the great either/or debate on nature versus nurture, Mr Lewontin would argue it's neither/nor.
Taking neither side of the debate may lead one to believe that Mr Lewontin is then a supporter of a new theory, or an advocate of a new approach to determining biological truths. Not so. "It is not new principles that we need but a willingness to accept the consequences of the fact that biological systems occupy a different region of the space of physical relations than do simpler physico-chemical systems...that is, organisms are internally heterogeneous open systems."
General readers can manage the book because Mr Lewontin writes well, and in being critical, he takes time to explain his views. He's a leftist so he hits out at the usual targets, but he's also an independent thinker so sacred subjects of the left such as conservationism and protecting the environment also get a bit of stick. He believes that environments exist only with reference to the animals and plants that inhabit them, and furthermore, an environment can not be held in an unchanging state.
I enjoy reading some of the popular biology books that Mr Lewontin criticizes and his views on some of my pet subjects made me sit up. You need thick skin when reading Mr Lewontin but there are few better to learn from.
Why the genome project may disappoint.......2001-01-28
This little book contains three lectures given by Lewontin at the Lezioni Italiani in Milan a few years ago. It is technical and aimed at an educated readership. Since there is not enough space here to discuss the entire book, I will concentrate on a brief discussion of the first, "Gene and Organism."
In this lecture Professor Lewontin outlines the role that genes, environment and chance ("random noise") play in the development of an organism. As he phrases it on page 20: "the organism is not specified by its genes, but is a unique outcome of an ontogenetic process that is contingent on the sequence of environments in which it occurs." This means that you could take the same genetic code and have it unfurl in Hyde Park and get an organism different from one you would get having it unfurl on, say, the Boston commons. Lewontin shows how cuttings from the same plant cultured at different altitudes developed differentially, and in a manner that could not be predicted. The reason they could not be predicted is that there is a significant amount of random variation ("developmental noise") that occurs as the plant grows. Lewontin gives the further example of a multiplying bacterium on page 37. The bacterium divides in 63 minutes. In another 63 minutes the daughter cells should divide again, giving four bacteria, but actually there is some random variation in how long it takes them to divide, so that one daughter divides in say 55 minutes, the other in an hour and five minutes. And this continues so that the bacteria culture does not increase in pulses, but continuously in random increments. This difference in timing in multi-cellar organisms may result in morphological differences since a catalytic enzyme may arrive too late to, say, grow a side bristle on a fruit fly (an example that Lewontin gives). Lewontin applies this understanding to the development of our brains on page 38. First there are random connections set. "Those connections that are reinforced from external inputs during neural development are stabilized, while the others decay and disappear." This process, Lewontin advises us, can lead to differences in cognitive function that are neither strictly genetic nor strictly environmental. They are influenced by random (unpredictable) factors.
This understanding is the reason that Lewontin is less than thrilled with the Human Genome Project. He believes, as he makes clear in another book, It Ain't Necessary So: The Dream of the Human Genome and Other Illusions (2000), that we will be disappointed by what can be accomplished simply from sequencing the genetic code, his point being that even though we know the code, the environmental and random factors cannot be known in any precise or predictive sense. It is true that the genome for a chimp will always code for a chimp and never for a rabbit, but whether that chimp is good at math or has unusually aggressive tendencies is something we cannot know from an understanding of the genetic code alone. Chance and environmental factors in development can result in a passive chimp even though its parents are aggressive.
Applying this idea to evolution in general, we can see that individual variation is not strictly a result of environmental differences but also of chance differences. Consequently, what we are is not shaped strictly by adaptive pressure (natural selection) but is to some extent the result of purely random processes. At one time in my life I studied chance and random events, and one of the most important things I learned is that the term "random" is not clearly defined, except in the sense that something that is random is unpredictable, which is a "you can't prove a negative" sort of definition. I also learned that there is considerable doubt as to whether a truly randomizing device actually exists. All real world devices, such as roulette wheels and computer random number algorithms can be shown to have some tiny bias, or to break down at the extremes. (Don't trust the random number generator on your computer when you are generating a very large number of trials: it will begin to repeat, and your Monte Carlo simulation will be flawed.) So what Lewontin calls "random events" are actually events that we simply do not know enough about to describe accurately. It may be that with greater ability we will eventually be able to describe or control these events. However, it may also be that at some level such events are the direct result of the probabilistic nature of a quantum event, and therefore in principle unpredictable. I suspect that Lewontin believes something like this.
In the second lecture Lewontin makes the point that to a significant degree organisms create their environment, and it is wrong to think of a place (such as the surface of the moon) without organisms as an environment. His dictum is "...[T]here are no environments without organisms" (p. 67). In the third lecture Lewontin discusses some of the problems associated with genetic causation and its analysis. There is a fourth chapter in which Lewontin attempts to provide some direction for future studies in biology.
I did not understand his assertion on page 81 that "Only a quasi-religious commitment to the belief that everything in the world has a purpose would lead us to provide a functional explanation for fingerprint ridges or eyebrows or the patches of hair on men's chests." The hair, I imagine is the result of sexual selection, but surely the fingerprint ridges allow us a better grip, and our eyebrows shade the sunlight as well as providing some small cushioning for our eye sockets.
Highly recommended.......2001-01-08
This little book is a nearly perfect antidote to books like Matt Ridley's Genome which tend to overstate the importance of decoding the human genome. In this wide-ranging discussion, Lewontin argues, among other things, that genes do not 'compute' organisms, and that organisms actively 'construct' their own environments. Lewontin's writing is elegant and concise. He succeeds in communicating (sometimes difficult) concepts in ways that a layman can understand.
P.S. The book information given above, as to page count, is inaccurate: I count 136 pages, not 192. Indeed, my only minor complaint is that the book is rather expensive, considering its length.
Book Description
From famines and deforestation to water pollution, global warming, and the rapid rate of extinction of plants and animals--the extent of the global damage wrought by humankind is staggering. Why have we allowed our environment to reach such a crisis? What produced the catastrophic population explosion that so taxes the earth's resources? Reg Morrison's search for answers led him to ponder our species' astonishing evolutionary success. His extraordinary book describes how a spiritual outlook combined with a capacity for rational thought have enabled Homo sapiens to prosper through the millennia. It convincingly depicts these traits as part of our genetic makeup--and as the likely cause of our ultimate downfall against the inexorable laws of nature. The book will change the way readers think about human evolution and the fate of our species. Small bands of apes walked erect on the dangerous plains of East Africa several million years ago. Morrison marvels that they not only survived, but migrated to all corners of the earth and established civilizations. To understand this feat, he takes us back to a critical moment when these hominids developed language and with it the unique ability to think abstractly. He shows how at this same time they began to derive increasing advantage from their growing sense of spirituality. He convincingly depicts spirituality as an evolutionary strategy that helped rescue our ancestors from extinction and drive the species toward global dominance. Morrison concludes that this genetically productive spirituality, which has influenced every aspect of our lives, has led us to overpopulate the world and to devastate our own habitats. Sobering, sometimes chilling, consistently fascinating, his book offers a startling new view of human adaptation running its natural course.
Customer Reviews:
A great read!.......2006-01-30
I don't have a formal education in genetics but I love reading about the subject as more of a hobby. I found this book to be a terrific read. Fascinating from the first page to the last. I would highly suggest this book to anyone! It is not overly technical and doesn't rely on the reader having known a wealth of knowledge about genetics prior to reading. I'm really glad I found this book...
Don't let the negative reviews put you off........2004-09-16
Most of the unfavourable reviews on this page seem to come from people that haven't read the book, or at least not all of it. Read it for yourself then come back and see quite how much those reviewers have missed. It will also be apparent how much the emotionally driven nature of the negative reactions actually support Morrison's conclusions.
I cannot recommend this book highly enough.
Great Stuff.......2004-03-13
The author thinks our species is genetically programmed for extinction and can't do anything about it. He may be right. Species usually disappear immediately after an enormous run-up in population, and our population has doubled in the last 50 years. (Without people generally taking much notice of it, I might add.)
Morrison doesn't think we have much choice in the matter, and I couldn't help remember the comment of the lead character in Neil Elliott's THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF JESUS CHRIST, when asked if mankind had free will sufficient to control his destiny. "Of course I believe in free will," he said, "--I have no choice!"
The elusive beast within.......2003-05-26
Reg Morrison summarizes in succinct and personal polemic style what problems the human race really faces, and does a good job of unmasking the nature of our mystically constructed delusions. It is a short book for covering such a broad sweep of our evolutionary and cultural heritage. Possibly some minor details are amiss, but the message is clear. For such an ultimately pessimistic view of what we prize most about ourselves, its punches are well delivered.
According to Morrison, globalism is heading for global ecological collapse under the weight of the human plague, and will be followed by massive decline in human numbers, if not outright extinction. As the situation gets more dire, the search for mental escape in our mystical beliefs in culture-land, nationalism, media will increase, not decrease. We will be all mentally "off the planet" by the time we are kicked off it.
Taking his presentation of facts and conclusions seriously means that the present course of human affairs is still heading for disaster. I present some conclusions of the book. Reg debunks some of our cherished mystical beliefs, and counterpoises his grim facts, and I present here his main conclusions.
Belief 1. Humans have spiritual autonomy and are therefore accountible for their actions.
Fact 1. We are genetically driven just like any other animal. We have no mind other than the body, and we lack behavioural choice.
Belief 2. The environment is inherently stable and will rebound if given half a chance.
Fact 2. The environment is a chaotic system and is therefore inherently unstable and always has been. If it were not so, evolution could not have occurred. Rebound is a not characteristic of the system.
Belief 3. With enough moral courage, political will and technical know how, time and money, the environment could be repaired.
Fact 3. Most environmental damage is inevitable product of overpopulation. The more technological the attempted solutions, the greater the environmental debt. All human activity adds to environmental debt.
We fall for the false beliefs most of the time, because humans have a split brain, with "two spheres of awareness available to us, with two entirely separate behaviour control systems, one rational and one entirely non-rational.... ". Unfortunately for the human species " ... the rational brain should be viewed, not as the principal generator of behaviour and the pivot on which the species turns, but as an optional extra designed to be switched off the moment any serious evolutionary matters, such as genetic survival or propagation, arise."
The best course for human species survival would be a global, concious coordinated reduction in human environmental impact, and a strong reduction in birth rate. Instead we are probably going to get conflict, continued exploitation to death and extinction, with war and upheavals on the scale of the Biblical Revelations. As Reg says, "All species must fail eventually, especially the very successful ones, or the whole system will grind to a halt". Reg hopes we will wipe ourselves out quickly as plagues tend to do, so the system can carry on without us.
Exactly what is happening and why you don't believe it........2001-10-01
Reg Morrison tells us, in this book, not only what is happening to the world's ecosystem but he also tells us why most people do not believe it. Morrison lays it out step by step. He explains why the population, in the last century has grown at such an exponential rate, and why that growth will soon come to an end....and head dramatically in the other direction. But one of the most important things covered in this book is why we refuse to believe the obvious, why we are doomed to repeat the mistakes of the Easter Islanders and refuse to believe that our actions must inevitably lead to a dramatic population collapse.
Morrison tells it like it is, we are by nature anthropocentric and have ultimate faith in the ability of Homo sapiens to overcome any difficulty. Faith, Morrison tells us, is the magic ingredient that enables to make that wondrous leap from grim reality into the totally bloody ridiculous. So those who have given this book one star are the true believers. They have criticized it because they say it smacks of genetic determinism, a term invented by the critics of sociobiology, and not subscribed to by sociobiologists themselves. Or they have criticized the book because it does not offer a rosy picture where we are all saved by the wonders of science. Morrison paints science as one of the culprits in the rape of the world and not our ultimate savior. That is a message that raises the ire of many a true believer.
Yet all Morrison is trying to tell us is that what has happened many times in the past on a much smaller scale, is happening again on a worldwide scale. And it will happen because our population has already reached plague proportions and is now way beyond any sustainable level.
This is the very best book I have read in years, and I read an awful lot of books.
Book Description
This book gives us the facts about how genetically engineered food is entering our diet. It looks at what they are, how they are produced, why they remain unlabeled, and how they arrive on our plates unannounced. This edition includes a new introduction and is updated throughout.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent Book on An Important Topic .......2005-01-09
The author presents a lot of important and useful information on the field of genetic engineering, particularly to the risks involved in the planting and consumption of genetically modified crops. His text is very well written and well substantiated through many references.
I was very impressed to read the thoroughly researched topics such as ecological risks of using genetically modified crops, which includes discussion of the emergence of herbicide resistant crops and insecticide resistant crops. The ethical and moral issues were also covered. Also, the possible health risks, such as allergic reactions and antibiotic resistance from eating genetically modified foods were particularly relevant to me.
As a consumer, I found this book a very informative and excellent read. Bravo!!
A most balanced view of a contentious subject........1999-10-09
Genetically modified foodstuffs are one of the most contentious subjects in the world today and will become more so as trade talks include their export. Nottingham has written a clear, balanced and judicious summary of both the biotechnology involved by how it impacts both developed and developing nations. The book is a must for anyone who wants to avoid the hype of both the agrochemical companies who produce GM products and the antis. Highly recommended.
Book Description
A much-needed antidote to genetic determinism, The Dependent Gene reveals how all traits-even characteristics like eye and hair color-are caused by complex interactions between genes and the environment at every stage of biological and psychological development, from the single fertilized egg to full-grown adulthood. How we understand the nature versus nurture debate directly affects our thoughts about such basic issues as sex and reproduction, parenting, education, and crime, and has an enormous impact on social policy. With life-and-death questions in the balance surrounding stem-cell research, cloning, and DNA fingerprinting, we can no longer afford to be ignorant of human development. An enlightening guide to this brave new world, The Dependent Gene empowers us to take control of our own destiny.
Customer Reviews:
To agree or not to agree.......2006-07-13
While Mr. Moore presents his view with reasonable facts of science, it leaves one with the impression "what do we do now?" I never got a clear picture of his definition of the Nature vs. Nurture debate.
The Developmental Systems Perspective.......2005-12-15
The Dependent Gene is a deeply thoughtful and carefully articulated synthesis of contemporary genetics, developmental biology and evolutionary principles. Thus, it transcends the gene-centric propositions that directed much biological science in the 20th century, and that pervades today in such starkly different venues as repair shops and hospital chart rooms, where a repairman or a psychiatrist might explain human traits and behavior with "It's in the genes." (cf. D. Nelkin & M.S. Lindee, The DNA Mystique). Professor Moore's penetrating expose of the nature versus nurture fallacy is a sizeable accomplishment because as Stephen Jay Gould has written: "Thinking in dichotomies may be the most venerable (and ineluctable) of all human mental habits." (S.J. Gould, The Structure of Evolutionary Theory).
The author, a professor of psychology at Pitzer College and the Claremont Graduate University, invites the reader's curiosity with such charming chapter headings as - From Aristotle's Wonder to a Fork in the Road: The Wrenching of Genetics from Development; Dependent Genes: Essential Biology and DNA; A Turtle in the Shade: The Development of Sexual Characteristics; Chicken Shoes and Monkey Foods: The Not-so-Subtle Effects of Some Very Subtle Postnatal Experiences; On Big Muscles and Facial Hair: Reconsidering "Inherited," "Acquired," and "Innate." Through aptly chosen vignettes we learn how to speed up the metamorphosis of a tadpole into a frog and how a tree can grow from its top to its roots rather than the usual way. In the process we acquire an understanding of "The Developmental Systems Perspective" that melts the arbitrary and artificial boundaries between genomic processes and human development.
The book is separated into five sections: Part I: Where We're Going, Where We've Been; Part II: Background Basics; Part III: Developmental Systems; Part IV: Development and Evolution (by itself, worth the price of the book); Part V: Implications (for the philosophically and policy minded). Taken as a whole, one gets a clear sense of what a fine teacher Professor Moore is. The concepts he presents are not easy ones (for example DNA machinery, immediate early genes, epigenetics, heritability, neoteny) yet, through a careful step-by-step propaedeutic, highly abstract concepts are made real and the hard work of synthesis is made accessible. This fine book will likely be enjoyed by lifetime learners as well as advanced undergraduates and graduate students.
Old Fashion Semantics?.......2002-11-03
Moore's primary concern is that equal emphasis be paid to both genetic and non genetic factors in studying human traits. His hope is that if $3 billion is spent sequencing the human Genome's DNA that another $3 billion should be spent on understanding the development of genes. Put bluntly, Moore thinks that confining yourself to genetic determinism is lazy, dumb thinking. For example, scientists should now know better than to draw connections between skin color and IQ levels. However, I think his whole approach is old fashioned semantics. He thinks because an author traces a trait to a gene this means that author is ignoring the cell in which the gene develops and ignoring proteins, enzymes and hormones that trigger growth. The genetic-non-genetic dichotomy is out of date. Why waste time with it? Moore wants to wean the reader away from genetic determinism but isn't this just a corner he's painted himself into? He suggests that one shouldn't label genes and attribute them to traits. But who is still doing this beyond the media? Modern writers now take a biochemical, proteomic rather than a genetic approach. In many ways the book chops down an old tree that is nearly toppling from the weight of its dead wood.
Moore omits much of what doesn't fit into his pretty picture. For example no mention of knockout studies (The Misunderstood Gene by Michel Morange) where one missing fosB gene prevented the mother mouse from tending her litter of newborns. Also missing is a discussion of certain inherited conditions like sickle cell, Huntington's and hemophilia where the non genetic factors add little to the understanding of these mutations. Genes are only important because they can be modified. The trouble is that the field is moving so fast that anything published is outmoded before the ink is dry.
Beyond the Gene Myth.......2002-02-18
This book is one of the clearest and most convincing critiques of genetic determinism, availing itself of a new, or renewed, developmental perspective. The nature-nurture debate was always an exercise in futility, but here, armed with a new approach, the issues seem to resolve themselves almost transparently. The resurfacing of this developmental perspective in the last decade, even as evolutionary psychology and sociobiology move into the mainstream, is both timely and a source of essential information for those confused by the Darwin debate, with its high powered promotions of genetic reductionism, and the misleading promises of the Human Genome project. It was always hard to resist the rigid claims based on Mendelism, but now we can see there is no alternative, a lesson, after all these years, to remember, think before the experts tell you what constitutes science.
Demonstrating the many confusions here starting with those of Galton, and Weismann, and tracing the embryological perspective all the way back to von Baer in the early nineteenth century, the author shows how the emergence of population genetics derailed developmentalism, leading to the now dominant one-sidedness of the Neo-Mendelian Synthesis, which is not able to account for the relationships of genes in relation to environments. The sidelined corrective of Gerstang and de Beer is now seen to be the source of a newly consolidating research perspective, now envigorated by new knowledge of regulatory genetics. The confusion of genes and traits is reviewed in a very clear and convincing account, with a remarkable discussion of Lamarck's ideas, their direct relevance, and limitations.
The end result is a fascinating new approach to the idea of evolution based on traits at the level of phenotype, a view, by the way, pointed to by Ernst Mayr, long ago. I think here the author is too kind to Darwin and still with the reflex over Lamarck. For now we are given the variant of Darwin whereby his later Lamarckism makes him prefigure the new developmentalism, even as Lamarck is given but a brief pat on the back. That is surely not quite the right history in the middle of what must be an important new outlook very much on the right track.
This is a very useful and important book for those on the defensive in the current environment of genetic fundamentalism. However, although the new perspective is essential as a new foundation for any theory of evolution, I think that this new and inevitable paradigm will still fall short of a full theory of evolution. But that is another story, as one can only hope this new point of view will enable a swift exit from the current dominant confusion.
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Gene-Environment Interactions: Fundamentals of Ecogenetics
Lucia G. Costa
Manufacturer: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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Book Description
Understanding the play between heredity and environment, and relating it to disease causation, is the task of ecogenetics. Gene-Environment Interactions: Fundamentals of Ecogenetics presents the first comprehensive survey of this discipline, reflecting its relationship with toxicology, epidemiology, pharmacology, public health, and other medical and biological fields.
Divided into four sections, the text elucidates key basic and advanced topics:
* Section 1 covers fundamentals, including the history of the discipline, a discussion of the molecular laboratory tools currently available to assess genotypes, using such measurements in molecular epidemiology studies, and the statistical issues involved in their analysis.
* Section 2 focuses on a number of key genetic polymorphisms relevant for ecogenetics, including enzymes of phase I and phase II metabolism, enzymes involved in DNA repair, as well as receptors and ion channels. This highlights characteristics of selected, widely studied genotypic/phenotypic differences, and allows discussion of how given genetic variations can influence responses to exogenous chemicals.
* Section 3 examines gene-environment interactions through a disease-based approach, addressing how genetic polymorphisms can influence susceptibility to various diseases. Chapters cover important disease conditions such as various types of cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, cardiovascular disease, chronic pulmonary diseases, infectious diseases, diabetes, and obesity.
* The final section discusses the ethical, legal, and social issues that arise when investigating and evaluating genetic polymorphisms in human populations, as well as the impact of ecogenetics on risk assessment, regulatory policies, and medicine and public health.
Packed with clear examples illustrating concepts, as well as numerous tables and figures, Gene-Environment Interactions: Fundamentals of Ecogenetics is a unique resource for a wide range of physicians, students, and other specialists.
Download Description
Understanding the play between heredity and environment, and relating it to disease causation, is the task of ecogenetics. Gene-Environment Interactions: Fundamentals of Ecogenetics presents the first comprehensive survey of this discipline, reflecting its relationship with toxicology, epidemiology, pharmacology, public health, and other medical and biological fields. Divided into four sections, the text elucidates key basic and advanced topics: Section 1 covers fundamentals, including the history of the discipline, a discussion of the molecular laboratory tools currently available to assess genotypes, using such measurements in molecular epidemiology studies, and the statistical issues involved in their analysis. Section 2 focuses on a number of key genetic polymorphisms relevant for ecogenetics, including enzymes of phase I and phase II metabolism, enzymes involved in DNA repair, as well as receptors and ion channels. This highlights characteristics of selected, widely studied genotypic/phenotypic differences, and allows discussion of how given genetic variations can influence responses to exogenous chemicals. Section 3 examines gene-environment interactions through a disease-based approach, addressing how genetic polymorphisms can influence susceptibility to various diseases. Chapters cover important disease conditions such as various types of cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, cardiovascular disease, chronic pulmonary diseases, infectious diseases, diabetes, and obesity. The final section discusses the ethical, legal, and social issues that arise when investigating and evaluating genetic polymorphisms in human populations, as well as the impact of ecogenetics on risk assessment, regulatory policies, and medicine and public health. Packed with clear examples illustrating concepts, as well as numerous tables and figures, Gene-Environment Interactions: Fundamentals of Ecogenetics is a unique resource for a wide range of physicians, students, and other specialists.
Average customer rating:
- Research in Genetics vs. Environment
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Genes, Behavior, and the Social Environment: Moving Beyond the Nature/Nurture Debate
Behavioral, and Genetic Factors in Health Committee on Assessing Interactions Among Social
Manufacturer: National Academies Press
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Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0309101964 |
Customer Reviews:
Research in Genetics vs. Environment.......2007-04-06
For many years there has been a great deal of discussion and research as to the importance of genetics (i.e. nature) vs. upbringing (nurture) as determinants of a persons behavior.
This book is a summary of that research bringing together scientists from the social, behavioral and biological sciences. In addition to the summary of existing research, the book presents a variety of suggestions how future research, transdisciplinary in nature, can contribute to the science of gene-social environment interactions and to explaining individual and population health and health disparities.
One example of such interaction is a person having a genetic predisposition to lung cancer who also has the environmental factor of smoking. The identification and further understanding of such interactions may yield to breakthroughs in the treatment of these diseases.
This book is published by the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, advisors to the Nation on Science, Engineering and Medicine.
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Genes in the Environment: 15th Special Symposium of the British Ecological Society (Symposia of the British Ecological Society)
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
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Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0632065079 |
Book Description
To build morale, pride, and spirit, a leader needs to possess certain characteristics and skills. This book will help you determine your current level of readiness in these areas. It describes two key factors: time spent together in shared experiences and communication among team members. When morale, pride, and spirit are enhanced, there is a positive response of cooperation and loyalty from team members toward the leader, the team, and the organization. Productivity and efficiency are enhanced, and there are tangible economic and relational outcomes. The leader is the key to the success of the entire process.
Download Description
To build morale, pride, and spirit, a leader needs certain characteristics and skills. This book will help you determine your current level of readiness. It describes two key factors: time spent together in shared experiences and communication among team members. The results of building morale, pride, and spirit include cooperation and loyalty from team members, enhanced productivity and efficiency, and tangible economic and relational outcomes. The leader is the key to the success of the process.
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- The Art of Computer Systems Performance Analysis: Techniques for Experimental Design, Measurement, Simulation, and Modeling
- The Audubon Backyard Birdwatcher: Birdfeeders and Bird Gardens
- The Audubon Backyard Birdwatcher: Birdfeeders and Bird Gardens
- The Foundation: A Great American Secret; How Private Wealth is Changing the World
- The Guidebook to Membrane Desalination Technology : Reverse Osmosis, Nanofiltration and Hybrid Systems Process, Design, Applications and Economics
- The Improving State of the World: Why We're Living Longer, Healthier, More Comfortable Lives on a Cleaner Planet
- The Information Broker's Handbook
- The Millionaire Real Estate Agent: It's Not About the Money...It's About Being the Best You Can Be!
- The Monster at the End of This Book (Big Bird's Favorites Brd Bks)
- The Out-of-Sync Child: Recognizing and Coping with Sensory Processing Disorder, Revised Edition
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