Which is the dominant factor in determining a person's behavior - one's genes or one's surroundings? All relevant theory on the subject relies on the interaction between heredity and environment, but there is a great difference of opinion as to which is the controlling element. In this thought-provoking examination of the ancient, but still unanswered question of nature and nurture, A. H. Halsey has assembled a unique set of readings demonstrating the scope and complexity of the problem, and illustrates the scientific progress made in an effort to solve it.
The editor has chosen works from a number of disciplines - sociology, biology, psychology, ethology, demography, genetics, anthropology, and economics. The sixteen selections provide a well-balanced look at the controversies surrounding heredity and environment. Each contributor offers a strong argument in an attempt to prove the validity of his or her research findings and opinions.
Among the contributors are such well known and respected authorities as:
- T. Dobzhansky
- N. Tinbergen
- B. K. Eckland
- A. R. Jensen
- P. V. Tobias
They focus on three areas of substantive research: fertility and population control, intelligence and social stratification, and the explanation of differential achievement between races. Their provocative approaches to these issues will lead one to a better understanding of geneticism and environmentalism.
Author(s): A.H. Halsey (ed.)
Publisher: The Free Press
Year: 1977
Language: English
Pages: 342
Tags: behavioral genetics, psychology, intelligence, natural selection, evolution, population ethics, dysgenics, socioeconomic status, black-white gap, racial differences, nature-nurture, preschool
- Acknowledgments
- "Introduction", A. H. Halsey
- Part One: Approaches
1. "Geneticism and environmentalism", J. M. Thoday (1965)
2. "Natural selection in mankind", T. Dobzhansky ( 1972 )
3. "Sociology, biology and population control", A. H. Halsey (1967)
4. "Functional ethology and the human sciences", N. Tinbergen (1972)
- Part Two: Population
5. "Population control and social selection in animals", V. C. Wynne-Edwards (1968)
6. "Some economic explanations of fertility", G. Hawthorn (1976)
7. "Population control in primitive groups", Mary Douglas (1966)
8. "Social and economic differentials in fertility", B. Benjamin (1965)
- Part Three: IQ and social stratification
9. "The inheritance of inequalities: some biological, demographic, social and economic factors", J. E. Meade (1973
10. "Social class structure and the genetic basis of intelligence", B. K. Eckland (1971)
11. "Genetics, social structure and intelligence", A. H. Halsey (1958)
12. "In search of an explanation of social mobility", M. Young and J. Gibson (1963)
- Part Four: IQ, genetics and race
13. "Race and mental ability", Arthur R. Jensen (1975)
14. "IQ and the nature-nurture controversy", P. V. Tobias (1974)
15. "The effects of preschool education: some American and British evidence", G. Smith and T. James (1975)
16. "Genetics and intelligence: the race argument", W. Bodmer (1973)
- References
