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GENETICS & HUMAN BEHAVIOUR Scientific evidence is piling up fast that one of the most fundamental belief-systems--on which both our society and our religions are based--is wrong. I am referring to the widely-held belief that people have complete control over their behaviour. No one disputes that we have no control over the color of our eyes, the size of our feet or the shape of our ears, yet-- paradoxically--it is commonly believed we do have full control over our personality. However, recent advances in neurology, psychology and psychiatry show that a good deal of our personality is as pre-determined by our genes as our blood type and skin color. Though we labour under the illusion that we shape our lives by independently making an endless series of decisions, the fact is that very little we say or do is purely original while much of it is predictable. Much of our behaviour is shaped by our reactions to external stimuli in a genetically predetermined way. While it is true that our experiences and environment often modify our behaviour, our basic personality does not change. For example, two major studies released in late 1991 show that homosexuality is not an acquired behavioural characteristic, but is genetically determined. The research has shown that there are physical differences between the brains of heterosexual and homosexual persons. Further proof that people are what they are. Our thoughts and decisions, and therefore our behaviour, are the products of chemical reactions inside our brain. Surgery or certain drugs can alter our personality. WE can't. The brain works very much like a computer. When we have to make a decision, our brain identifies the various options that are available to us. The evaluations of these options and the subsequent choices that are made obviously vary from person to person, depending on experience, physical and mental condition, values, biases and the circumstances of a given situation. But the basic selection process is the same. I first became aware of this decision-making process while playing chess with a computer. It uses essentially the same decision-making process as the human brain: it compares the options and chooses what appears to be the best one. A computer, like a human player, takes more time to select a move in a complex situation than when the choice is obvious. Once we understand that our decision-making process is genetically determined, we are then compelled to accept the fact that people cannot be held responsible for their behaviour, including criminal behaviour. For where else but in the brain do choices originate? What's repulsive to one is irresistible to another. Hence we can't praise one and condemn another for behaving in accordance with their mental makeup. The reason one person remains calm while another loses his temper under precisely the same circumstances has nothing to do with being good or bad. It is simply the result of cerebral characteristics no different than other natural attributes such as copper conducting electricity and marble resisting it. Behavioural and emotional differences between men and women are similarly genetically caused, much of it by differences in hormonal activity in the brain (Read British Geneticist Anne Moir's bestseller Brain Sex, The Real Difference Between Men & Women). Any observant person who has been married long enough is able to predict many of his/her spouse's reactions and decisions. If one knew ALL aspects and variants of a person's personality, that person would be TOTALLY predictable. Since no one does, no one is. A person's attraction to alcohol, smoking or specific sexual partners (actual or potential) is also genetically determined. No one wills himself to be an alcoholic, for instance. We may admire people who don't smoke and avoid drugs, but the fact is all such people have a stronger motivation and capacity to refrain than to indulge. On the other hand a person we condemn for such habits has an urge to use such substances that is far greater than his/her restraint capacity. Expressions like: "I don't know what came over me, I just couldn't resist it, the devil made me do it, I just lost my head," and so on, show that while the brain is usually aware of what is socially acceptable and what is not, it still responds to stimuli in a predetermined way. Some may argue that people can change their behaviour if they so choose, but again the choice is made by the brain--not independent of it. (The argument may be advanced that all decisions--especially ethical ones--are made by the soul. The reality is, however, that while there is irrefutable evidence that all people have brains, there is no scientific evidence that people have souls... nor that they don't). If one tries to modify behaviour with incentives or threats, the brain simply prioritizes its options. For example, if a person stops exceeding the speed limit (s)he has simply weighed the appeal of speeding against the possible consequence of a fine and decided the prevention of a fine is more advantageous than the "thrill" of speeding. It's just as possible that the risk of a fine is considered to be a small price to pay for getting to one's destination on time. Further evidence that our behaviour is not determined by free will is that our personalities can be changed by brain surgery or drugs. A lobotomy can make a violent person docile and drugs can alter attitudes. Free will is an illusion. Life is genetic roulette. At the moment of conception everything from the color of our hair to our intelligence was genetically determined. Once we recognize and accept the genetic determinant in human behaviour, we are then compelled to rethink many things. E.g. religion and our penal system, both of which are based on the erroneous belief of free will. No rational person expects an oak tree to grow from a birch seed. For the same reason no one should expect a psychopath to change himself into a saint or a cat to switch its eating habits from birds to bananas. We simply are what we were genetically predetermined to be. JM
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