dougs digs

once in a while you get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right

1.12.2005

Are We Programmed For Kindness?


Study Finds Genetic Basis For Human Kindness

Jan. 11, 2005 - Do humans have a "goodness gene?" Is there something inside us that genetically pushes us to reach out to the people who were devastated by the tsunami that struck southern Asia? Or do we do it because we have seen others suffer, and our culture has taught us the meaning of social responsibility?

The old "nature vs. nurture" debate just won't go away, as revealed by a number of studies in recent scientific journals and the sometimes nasty debates that follow.

Over the years the pendulum has swung back and forth between two extreme positions. Either we are what our genes tell us to be. Or we are what our culture has taught us to be.

The truth certainly lies somewhere in between, with opinions ranging all the way from "genetic determinism," in which genes are everything, to "free will," in which we have the freedom to shape our own sense of social responsibility regardless of our genetic composition.

ABC News
|| doug, 13:35

2 Comments:

Maybe I'll scrap all of my news feeds for your Blog, Doug... You're posting on all of the stuff I usually have to root around for! :)
Blogger timsamoff, at 12/1/05 13:47  
You still have news feeds, Tim? I come here for regular news, to another blog for entertainment news, and to Jason Cupp's blog for Tony Danza hair news(duh, of course--who doesn't?). Do we need anything else?
Blogger Mary, at 12/1/05 14:11  

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