[lbo-talk] "Liberalism" - It's in the genes

[Alan Rudy]

Because genetic determinist sociobiology is horsepoop.  Did you look Fowler
up? He claims to have discovered three genes influence voting behavior
(tying them to serotonin and dopamine systems), to have found that decisions
to vote, egalitarianism, cooperation and altruism are heritable, and the
social networks have meaningfully (if not totally) genetic foundations and
that these genetically mediated networks can be used to forecast epidemics.
This is an analysis of data from 2000 people a portion of which are
indicated to have DRD4 genetic subtype and a portion of those are said to
have lots of friends and the subset of the subset is then said to be more
likely to vote for liberals - an transhistorical and unchanging category
equal to the singular and monolithic Democratic Party agenda since we know
that young Montana Blue Dogs are exactly like old Massachusetts homosexuals,
much less Vermont ex-socialists and northern Ohio post-industrialists.
Yeah, this is a BRILLIANT study, all of us should accept it at face value.
Not a single variable could be dubiously operationalized in the slightest.

In re: the DRD4 gene: does the following suggest anything about how Fowler
might be thinking about the "liberal" gene? From wikipedia - "As with
other dopamine
receptor <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dopamine_receptor> subtypes,
the D4receptor is activated by the
neurotransmitter <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neurotransmitter>
dopamine<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dopamine>.
It is linked to many neurological and psychiatric conditions including
schizophrenia <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schizophrenia>, Parkinsons
disease <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parkinsons_disease>, bipolar
disorder<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bipolar_disorder>,
addictive behaviors including sex
addiction<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sex_addiction>,
and eating disorders <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eating_disorders> such as
anorexia nervosa <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anorexia_nervosa>, bulimia
nervosa <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulimia_nervosa> and binge
eating<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binge_eating>.
It has also been linked with novelty
seeking<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Novelty_seeking>and
liberalism <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberalism>
[2]<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dopamine_receptor_D4#cite_note-drd4liberalism-1>.
It is a target for drugs which treat
schizophrenia<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schizophrenia>and Parkinson
disease <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parkinson_disease>."

Last, go here: http://www.world-science.net/ and tell me that the huge
percentage of biologically determined social phenomena - plus the lack of an
About Us or Who We Are page - doesn't raise flags.

If he were dead, Dick Lewontin'd be rolling over in his grave to see lefties
embracing this pile of hooey.

On Fri, Oct 29, 2010 at 9:07 AM, Wojtek S <wsoko52 at gmail.com> wrote:


> How can you be so sure that something does not exist?
>
> Wojtek
>
>
> On Fri, Oct 29, 2010 at 8:46 AM, Eubulides <autoplectic at gmail.com> wrote:
> > On Fri, Oct 29, 2010 at 5:39 AM, Wojtek S <wsoko52 at gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> >> This confirms my long held belief that a rational discussion between
> >> liberals and conservatives is pointless, because cognitive frames used
> >> to form each point of view (or "motivated cognition" in psychological
> >> parlance) are a priori determinants of how information is being
> >> processed - i.e. deciding what is relevant and what is not and how the
> >> relevant information is arranged and interpreted.  Therefore, any
> >> information obtained in a discussion will be either deemed irrelevant
> >> by the other side or interpreted in a manner that is consistent with
> >> his own cognitive framework.  This is especially true of conservatives
> >> who tend to be more cognitively rigid than liberals.
> >
> > ==============
> >
> > There are no a priori determinants of how information is processed.
> >
> > Ian
> >
> > ___________________________________
> > http://mailman.lbo-talk.org/mailman/listinfo/lbo-talk
> >
>
> ___________________________________
> http://mailman.lbo-talk.org/mailman/listinfo/lbo-talk
>

-- 
*********************************************************
Alan P. Rudy
Dept. Sociology, Anthropology and Social Work
Central Michigan University
124 Anspach Hall
Mt Pleasant, MI 48858
517-881-6319