name-common-cultural-72.html
Flash Page-Flip Home
Stefan Claudiu
The Zeitgeist Movement - Orientation Guide
73 / 83
However, this doesn't mean
genetic
s don't have a strong influence on our lives. It is very important to consider the true
genetic
traits and the effects they have when intermixed with culture. While most agree that physical attributes such as eye color, height, and some allergies are
genetic
, many do not consider the ramifications these attributes have in shaping the environment of that person. For example, suppose you have two identical twins separated at birth and each has the
genetic
predisposition to grow to over 6 feet, each has a high metabolism that keeps him or her thin, and a neurological wiring that supports acute eye-hand coordination. Let's say they are both adopted by middle class families in suburban environments and grow up in what would be considered a traditional American childhood culture, including sports activities. Since each brother has outstanding height and increased coordination
genetic
ally, they will have an advantage in sports. Since
basketball
and football are the two main sports in America, they will likely play one or the other at some point. Given their slender build and tall height, they might gravitate towards
basketball
. If they obtain moral support from their friends and family, perhaps they will each grow up to play professional
basketball
. Is this activity of playing
basketball
genetic
? Not in the sense that some
behavior
al
genetic
ists would suggest. The fact is the propensity for playing
basketball
is derived from physiological advantages that are
genetic
, along with environment based cultural traditions. There is no evidence to suggest that genes somehow make the
basketball
player. This is similar to
genetic
studies which claim they are looking for the gene which causes smoking or a makes a person become a Republican... it's rather absurd. The true
genetic
basis relevant here is physiological, not
behavior
al. Neurochemicals are further examples of physiological influences on
behavior
. Serotonin, for example, has been shown to be related to so-called "antisocial"
behavior
. Low Serotonin levels can apparently lead to impulsivity and aggression.70 Be that as it may, Neurochemicals do not instruct a person's
behavior
in specific ways. Just like other physiological attributes, they set certain propensities. While there is certainly a
genetic
basis to these chemicals, which could relate to familial heredity and generate so-called `personality disorders' that result from chemical imbalances, the Neurochemical
behavior
assumption does not give any specifics as to how those chemical propensities will manifest. In other words, the
behavior
that might result from the interaction of these chemicals can only be extremely generalized. One could say that a person with a certain imbalance has a propensity to get "angry" more easily than the standard population. While this is informative, it tells us nothing about how that
behavior
will manifest. It is the environment that determines the actual
behavior
or lack thereof it.
70
Elliot, FA, A neurological perspective of violent
behavior
. In DH Fishbein, The science, treatment, and prevention of antisocial
behavior
s, pp. 19-21, 2000, Civic Research Institute 73
behavior-found-increase-74.html
