Stavya Week 12: Free Will
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To what extent do we have control over our own lives? Is everything determined by genetics? I've wondered about these questions for a long time now. It began with my realization when I was younger that a lot of my behaviors/characteristics could be attributed to my parents, as I noticed that a lot of peculiarities that I had were present in one of my parents as well.
According to this article, two identical twins (identical twins have the same genetics) James Springer and James Lewis, were separated at birth, and yet, when Thomas Bouchard, psychologist at the University of Minnesota, met them after they reunited, he found that both had married and later divorced a woman named Linda and remarried a Betty. They were also eerily similar in their interests. The twins both loved carpentry, mechanical drawing, and math; their least favorite subject was spelling. As the article concludes, “a great deal of who they would turn out to be” was “written in their genes.”
Does this mean that free will is a complete illusion and that we don’t have any control over our lives? Not necessarily. Although there are several genes that encode for specific traits, such as a mutation in the monoamine oxidase A gene which is referred to as the “warrior gene” and has a great effect on the likelihood of someone turning out to be violent, there is the concept of heritability, which determines the influence that a specific gene has on how it is expressed and depends on the environment. For example, the gene that codes for intelligence will have a large heritability in a family that seeks to have their children educated but a low heritability in an area where drug addiction is common.
What we can learn from this article is that genetics do indeed play a large role in the characteristics we develop. This means that, without any effort to improve ourselves, we may end up being the person we were destined to be based on our genetics. However, that does not take away from the fact that we have free will. With conscious effort, we have the power to improve our characteristics and maximize the potential determined by our genetics. Genetics are like a default setting and it is up to us whether we want to keep it the way it is or change it.
Hi Stavya, I like that you began your blog with the inclusion of questions to connect with the readers as it serves as an effective hook. I appreciate the informative tone you tend to maintain in your blogs due to the credibility it adds to your writing. I notice that many of your blogs are based on articles and research reports which depicts your scientific interest efficiently.
ReplyDeleteIt is honestly really suspicious and intriguing that James and James both married and divorced people with the same names and the thought that "a great deal" of what people "turn out to be" is "written in [our] genes" since it leads to the questioning of one's individuality.
Lastly I like that you connected the conclusion drawn about the role of genetics to a philosophical aspect by including the fact that we have the potential to "improve our characteristics." Thank you for this informative blog!