"Love of Shopping" Is Not a Gene--Problems With Darwinian Psychology."Love of Shopping" Is Not a Gene--Problems With Darwinian Psychology Anne Innis Dagg Black Rose Books 2250 Military Rd., Tonawanda, NY 14150 800-283-3572 ISBN ISBN abbr. International Standard Book Number ISBN International Standard Book Number ISBN n abbr (= International Standard Book Number) → ISBN m 1551642565 $24.99 210+xii pp. With advanced degrees in genetics genetics, scientific study of the mechanism of heredity. While Gregor Mendel first presented his findings on the statistical laws governing the transmission of certain traits from generation to generation in 1856, it was not until the discovery and detailed study of and animal behavior, Dagg challenges a range of assumptions presumed to be rooted in Darwin's theory of evolution. Many of these assumptions provide the basis for the field of sociobiology sociobiology, controversial field that studies how natural selection, previously used only to explain the evolution of physical characteristics, shapes behavior in animals and humans. ; they strongly color its point of view, its topics of study, and its methodology. But Dagg discerns what amounts to ideological or political dispositions or values behind the assumptions. Contrary to the Darwinian sociobiologists who believe genes are the basic, practically exclusive explanation for human behavior, Dagg believes from her studies that "human beings act as they do primarily because of their sex and personality...based to some degree on heredity heredity, transmission from generation to generation through the process of reproduction in plants and animals of factors which cause the offspring to resemble their parents. That like begets like has been a maxim since ancient times. "; and in relation to this, "personality is shaped to a huge extent by culture and by [an individual's] education and experience." Crime, violence, rape, and even the shopping of the title are gone over by Dagg in support of her position in this ongoing debate on how much and in what ways genetic inheritance determine an individual's nature and behavior versus the effects of circumstances and experiences. Dagg's investigation of the range of topics--some topical topical /top·i·cal/ (top´i-k'l) pertaining to a particular area, as a topical antiinfective applied to a certain area of the skin and affecting only the area to which it is applied. top·i·cal adj. , some long-standing in her field--casts light on the always engaging and intriguing in·trigue n. 1. a. A secret or underhand scheme; a plot. b. The practice of or involvement in such schemes. 2. A clandestine love affair. v. subject of human nature and behavior. |
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