
Beyond Versus
The Struggle to Understand the Interaction of Nature and Nurture
James Tabery(Author)
MIT Press
Published on 9. May 2014
Book
Hardback
296 pages
978-0-262-02737-3 (ISBN)
Description
Why the "nature versus nurture" debate persists despite widespread recognition that human traits arise from the interaction of nature and nurture.If everyone now agrees that human traits arise not from nature or nurture but from the interaction of nature and nurture, why does the "nature versus nurture" debate persist? In Beyond Versus, James Tabery argues that the persistence stems from a century-long struggle to understand the interaction of nature and nurture-a struggle to define what the interaction of nature and nurture is, how it should be investigated, and what counts as evidence for it. Tabery examines past episodes in the nature versus nurture debates, offers a contemporary philosophical perspective on them, and considers the future of research on the interaction of nature and nurture. From the eugenics controversy of the 1930s and the race and IQ controversy of the 1970s to the twenty-first-century debate over the causes of depression, Tabery argues, the polarization in these discussions can be attributed to what he calls an "explanatory divide"-a disagreement over how explanation works in science, which in turn has created two very different concepts of interaction. Drawing on recent developments in the philosophy of science, Tabery offers a way to bridge this explanatory divide and these different concepts integratively. Looking to the future, Tabery evaluates the ethical issues that surround genetic testing for genes implicated in interactions of nature and nurture, pointing to what the future does (and does not) hold for a science that continues to make headlines and raise controversy.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Cambridge
United States
Publishing group
MIT Press Ltd
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Interest Age: From 18 years
Product notice
Cloth over boards
Illustrations
26 figures; 26 Illustrations
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 19 mm
ISBN-13
978-0-262-02737-3 (9780262027373)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
05/2014
MIT Press
€48.99
Available for download
Person
James Tabery is Associate Professor in the Department of Philosophy and member of the Division of Medical Ethics and Humanities at the University of Utah.