Basic Instinct: The Genesis of Behavior.

BASIC INSTINCT: The Genesis of Behavior 

MARK S. BLUMBERG 

What does it mean to say that something is in our genes? How much of our behavior is guided by the instructions in our DNA and how much is imposed on us by our environment? Neuroscientist Blumberg ponders these questions and describes how scientists are looking for connections between nature and nurture. In that context, the concept of instinct is confused by its many definitions, from all behaviors present at birth to certain propensities for sets of behaviors, such as the herding instinct in collie">border collie. Just how much of what we consider instinct is actually a form of learned behavior? Blumberg asks. He then examines the debate between scientists who argue that people and other animals are born with a set of instincts about the world and researchers who hold that instincts must be re-produced in each generation. In doing so, the text recounts studies of animal and human behavior that have sorted the effects of environment and genes. One famous and controversial example is the Minnesota Study of Twins Reared Apart, which Blumberg asserts has repeatedly been misinterpreted to ascribe amazing power to genes in people's lives. Other studies have uncovered surprising effects of the environment on what were assumed to be strictly genetic traits, including determining the sex of an animal's offspring. Throughout the book, Blumberg derides the movement called intelligent design, which argues against evolution. This is a book for readers seeking to understand the origins of human behavior. Thunder's Mouth Press, 2005, 224 p., b&w photos, hardcover, $24.00.