Science does allow us to determine the extent to which we inherit certain traits and behaviors using twin studies. Since twins who are raised together often have fully shared genetic material and highly shared environments and experiences, it would still be difficult to attribute similarities among twins to either nature or nurture. But, when twins are reared apart, this provides an ideal way of studying whether nature or nurture matters more.
Traits like eye color and blood type are predominantly genetic, while language (what language one speaks) and culture are predominantly environmental. While we tend to think of traits like height and weight as genetically determined, the full expression of how tall we are and how much we weight as adults depends also on our diet, physical activity, and other variables we experience throughout childhood and adulthood.
The questions about whether certain behaviors are biological or environmentally determined raises lots of other interesting questions. For example, if perpetrating violence were found to be genetic, what would this imply that we should do about people who are biologically more likely to commit violent acts? On the other hand, if perpetrating violence were found to be a socialized behavior, how might we change the way we socialize children and adults to prevent violence? How would we respond to people committing violent acts- would we imprison them to be punished, enroll them in therapy, or teach them about anger management?
This question becomes more salient when we consider the roles of mental health and mental illness in crime. When someone commits a really terrible act of violence, we often say that they are ‘bad’ people and they can’t be helped. We might also want them completely removed out of society. This implies that they can’t be ‘fixed,’ and that their permanent state is to be immoral or violent. Many mental health challenges that may lead to violent acts (bipolar disorder, for example) are caused by neural imbalances (biological) combined with early trauma or abuse. Treatments that address the biological causes (medication) and the environmental causes (therapy) can be very successful, which implies that perhaps we can help alleviate the negative impact of such disorders. Certainly, the vast majority of people who do have mental health problems or trauma experience do not commit violent crimes. So, are people who commit violent acts products of unfortunate circumstances instead of inherently bad people? Thinking about how our society treats criminals and people with mental health problems, which side of the nature/nurture debate do we seem to believe more in regard to violent crime?
The nature/nurture question is also being utilized by those for and against gay rights. Those who oppose gay rights say being gay is a choice. Those who are for gay rights say that gays and lesbians are born that way. How do these two attributions help support their respective views? Will finding out whether being gay is biological or environmental end the debate over gay rights? If ‘they’re born that way,’ should gay marriage be legal? If ‘it’s a choice,’ should it be illegal?
This debate also raises questions about how much support parents need to successfully raise children and how much of a role communities and societies should play in rearing children. How much of our behavior do we believe is dictated by biology/genetics, social influences, and free will? In class, we will talk about the moral and ethical problems associated with ‘biological determinism,’ the idea that biology determines our behavior.
