[lbo-talk] Kenneally, some notes and background

Miles Jackson cqmv at pdx.edu
Fri Jun 12 08:17:39 PDT 2009


ravi wrote:
> Miles,
>
> biological factors do not need to exist as independent elements (in
> your sense) for us to be able to talk independently of them. No?
>
> --ravi

I suppose we can talk about whatever we want! My point is that it's a fundamental error to juxapose biological factors and the environment and then ask if X is caused by the former or the latter. I know it's an ingrained element of common sense in our society (e.g., the debates about whether or not people are "born" homosexual). Psychologists played this Nature vs. Nurture game for decades, and what researchers invariably found was that the answer to the question "Is it Nature or Nurture?" was "yes".

So questions about the "independent" effect of biological factors are based on a faulty premise. The sooner we stop asking them, the sooner we can focus on the important questions about how the complex interactions between biological factors and the environment shape various human characteristics.

Miles



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