Understanding the Nature‒Nurture Debate

Eric Turkheimer (University of Virginia)

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Paperback

Forthcoming
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English

Cambridge University Press
21 November 2024

Behavioural theory (Behaviourism); History of science; Popular science; Genetics (non-medical); Animal behaviour

Series: Understanding Life

There are arguably few areas of science more fiercely contested than the question of what makes us who we are. Are we products of our environments or our genes? Is nature the governing force behind our behaviour or is it nurture? While it is now widely agreed that it is a mixture of both, discussions continue as to which is the dominant influence. This unique volume presents a clear explanation of heritability, the ongoing nature versus nurture debate and the evidence that is currently available. Starting at the beginning of the modern nature-nurture debate, with Darwin and Galton, this book describes how evolution posed a challenge to humanity by demonstrating that humans are animals, and how modern social science was necessitated when humans became an object of natural science. It clearly sets out the most common misconceptions such as the idea that heritability means that a trait is 'genetic' or that it is a justification for eugenics.

By: Eric Turkheimer (University of Virginia)
Imprint: Cambridge University Press
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
ISBN: 9781108958165
ISBN 10: 1108958168
Series: Understanding Life
Pages: 150
Publication Date: 21 November 2024
Audience: General/trade , College/higher education , ELT Advanced , Further / Higher Education
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Eric Turkheimer is a Clinical Psychologist and the Hugh Scott Hamilton Professor of Psychology at the University of Virginia, Charlottesville. Eric studies how interactions between genes and environments shape the development of human behaviour and has explored the scientific and philosophical basis of the nature-nurture debate for thirty-eight years. He is a past president of the Behavior Genetics Association (2012), a winner of the James Shields Award for Twin Research (2009), and a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.