Genes and Society

A popular notion in society is that humans have stop evolving. That evolution, like the food chain, no longer applies to mankind. Since no other species on earth comes close to challenging the human species for dominance, we can sometimes forget that the same biological processes that shapes nature also shapes our species.

The news article “What Science Says About Race and Genetics” argues that societies is shaped by the genetic pool resulting from the evolution of previous generations; and that the pool itself continues to change. The article suggests that it is the genetic pool, not the culture, of each civilization that is responsible for behaviors and attitudes. This can explain why tribal societies, like Iraq or Afghanistan, have so much difficulty in changing their culture and customs to operate as modern states.

In “The psychopath Inside”, James Fallon proposes a hypothesis as to why psychopaths exist in modern society. Unlike some people who claim that psychopaths are simply random “mistakes” of nature, Fallon argues that their genes remain in the genetic pool because they serve a purpose to society. He argues that history has been very violent, and that psychopaths are needed in times of war and danger to protect societies. He also believes that removing the psychopathy-related traits and genes from society would lead to passivity and the end to our species. Both the news article and Fallon seem to agree that the genetic makeup of each society determines it’s behavior.

Fallon, J. (2013). The psychopath inside: A neuroscientist’s personal journey into the dark side of the brain. New York, NY: Penguin Group.

http://time.com/91081/what-science-says-about-race-and-genetics/