This piece shall begin by briefly outlining biological determinism and sociology as a whole. it shall then continue by analyzing and assessing sociology strong argument against biological determinism by means of picking apart sections of nature and nurture debate/ furthermore the piece shall elaborate on biological determinism and its argument against sociology. finally, this essay will reflect upon the statement 'sociology has mounted a powerful attack on biological determinism' in relation to the topics discussed previously.
Biological determinism is a term used to encompass the theory that our genetic makeup will determine the way in which we cultivate information and how we use this as we grow. The thesis is that nature of a person establishes
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in addition to the previous example of biological factors can be changed due to sociological factors s this can affect not only how we view the world and how we interpret it and enjoy the society but how this is molded into us at a very early age by our parents and their social class background. 'The idea of what constitutes culture can be affected by class: for example, consumption of high culture such as opera or theatre need a disposal income not enjoyed by everyone. Class will influence the way in which parents socialize their children. Even such things as whether one is breastfed or smacked as a child are often a reflection of the social class one is born int. '(brown, K.et al 2009) Although sociology has mounted a powerful attack its opposition has a powerful defense that of science, Biological factors such as genders, age and disability play roles' While many scientists have hard evidence that human life is solely affected by biology, there is a very compelling counter argument all around us: nature vs Nurture. Giddens acknowledges gender socialization as an approach to gender studies. Gender socialization is "Learning of gender roles within help f social agencies such as the family, state and mass …show more content…
'ethnicity may affect the likelihood of being in a one parent family: recent figures from the department for children, schools and families show that 57 percent of Afro- Carribean children live in lone-parent families, while only 12 percent of Asian children's do so, compared to 25 percent of white children.'(Browne, K.et al 2009) The above statement indicates that your ethnicity can determine your upbringing and ultimately the way in which your life will play out. Although this is not set in stone as there are many families from a variety of cultures which are in very stable family unit. People who support biological determinism often refer to environmental /sociological factors as minute when compared to that of biological and genetic factors. 'Biological determinism, also called biologism or biodeterniminsm , the idea that most human characteristics, physical and mental. Are determines at conception by hereditary factors passed from parents to offspring. Although all human traits ultimately are based in material nature (e.g., memorizing a poem involves changing molecular configurations at synapses, where nerve cells interact), the term bological detreminsm has come to imply a rigid causation largely unaffected by environmental factors.'(Goldhaber, D.2012) Supporters of biological determinism focus generally on the science behinds it and
Similar to everyone else in the world, many sociological forces have greatly impacted my life and shaped the person that I am today. Throughout Sociology 110, learning what elements in the population’s lives affect the way they live their lives allowed me to consider what has personally affected my own. The person I am today can attribute the sociological forces such my gender, my not-so close knit family, my family’s low socioeconomic status, and sexism in the family. There are plenty of other sociological factors that have considerably rendered my person, however, I believe that the ones I mentioned are the most important factors that manipulated not only how I live my life, but me as a person as well, into my current self.
Firstly, the determinist argue that “everything we do is cause by forces over which we have no control (James & Stuart Rachels 110). The free will this theory speaks of is most likely on the biological level, as there are many natural events that occur that people have no control over. For example, the act of cellular reproduction, this
Harro’s Cycle of Socialization is a system that states that everyone is born into social identities, which prompts us to fall into a system of oppression. It has eight major parts, which cover the thought processes of a person through majority of their lifespan. All of these cycles put together contribute to making of the identity of each person, and help define their role in society. The first part of the cycle is to be born. When someone is born they are not given a preference of religion, gender, class or even sexual orientation, but they enter into a world where these factors are preset for them. The strong rule and regulations already present starts to shape ones personality as they grow, as well as the family they are born into. The family on is born into also has a large impact on the amount of power they can have through out their lives. This directly correlates with Farmer (2004), when speaks about structural violence. This systematic way that social structures harm/disadvantage individual is out of many people’s control. If a person were born into a lower class, black family,...
Sigmund Freud is a well known psychologist and philosopher. He is widely known for his strange psychological reasoning and comparisons of children and sex. But for the purpose of this essay, the focus will be more on his philosophical views of determinism in his book, Psychopathology of Everyday Life.
The theories of Samuel Bowles and Herbert Gintis, Pierre Bourdieu, Basil Bernstein and Shirley Brice Heath represent the deterministic end of the social reproduction perspective. These theories mainly involve school, the ideas of cultural capital, habitus, and linguistic cultural capital and can help explain more in depth how the reproduction of classes continue through generations, and how this reproduction is accepted.
Society, however, is a state towards which humans have naturally evolved, and our continued existence without society is inconceivable. Thus, although determinism is argued successfully from a causal point of view, it is clearly flawed in a practical context as it fails these fundamental aspects of human life.
The movie “A Bug’s Life” shares the story of a colony of ants that are trapped in a vicious cycle of gathering food for the powerful grasshoppers year after year. The ants become wary of collecting food and soon realize a revolution is needed to free themselves from the grip of the grasshoppers. Throughout “A Bug’s Life”, a critical analysis of character interaction contributes to a greater understanding of the functionalist theory, conflict theory, and Marxism and how these sociological principles create a competitive society and inevitably lead to societal change.
Melo-Martin, Immaculado de. "When is Biology Destiny? Biological Determinism and Social Responsibility." Philosophy of Science 70.15 (2003): 11. Expanded Academic Index. Infotrac. Mabee Library, Topeka. 20 April 2004
Biological factors (sex) and gender are correlated, but gender may or may not be caused by biological factors. Cherlin proposes four models of how gender is created: the biosocial model, the socialization model, the interactionist model and the patriarchic model. Only the first model, the “biosocial” model, allows for heredity and biological factors to play a role in determining gender. This model is based on the idea that biologically, men and women are predisposed to act a certain way “on average,” but also, that social factors play a strong role in determining whether biological tendencies prevail. According to this theory, biological differences account for only about a quarter of behavioral gender differences while social influences account for the remaining portion. Socialized traits are stronger than biological traits, and can eliminate biological traits, but biological tendencies are still important because it is a challenge for socialized traits to subdue biological traits. A good example of this is outlined in Ke...
In “The Gender Blur: Where Does Biology End and Society Take Over?” Deborah Blum states that “gender roles of our culture reflect an underlying biology” (Blum 679). Maasik and Solomon argue that gender codes and behavior “are not the result of some sort of natural or biological destiny, but are instead politically motivated cultural constructions,” (620) raising the question whether gender behavior begins in culture or genetics. Although one may argue that gender roles begin in either nature or nurture, many believe that both culture and biology have an influence on the behavior.
The purpose of this academic piece is to critically discuss The Darwinist implication of the evolutionary psychological conception of human nature. Charles Darwin’s “natural selection” will be the main factor discussed as the theory of evolution was developed by him. Evolutionary psychology is the approach on human nature on the basis that human behavior is derived from biological factors and there are psychologists who claim that human behavior is not something one is born with but rather it is learned. According to Downes, S. M. (2010 fall edition) “Evolutionary psychology is one of the many biologically informed approaches to the study of human behavior”. This goes further to implicate that evolutionary psychology is virtually based on the claims of the human being a machine that can be programmed to do certain things and because it can be programmed it has systems in the body that allow such to happen for instance the nervous system which is the connection of the spinal cord and the brain and assists in voluntary and involuntary motor movements.
Both males and females have influences that help decide the ways in which they think, dress, speak, and act within the situation of society. Cultural and personal gender roles are a big influence on the way people live. Learning plays a role in this process of shaping gender roles. Peers, parents, movies, teachers, television, books, and movies could all teach and reinforce gender roles throughout the lifespan.
“One is not born a woman, but instead one becomes a woman,” claims sociologist Simone de Beauvoir (as cited in Zaretsky). Similarly, sociologist Judith Butler argues that “gender is less a biological fact than a social fiction” (Zaretsky). Another sociologist, Berk, makes a similar claim, arguing that the family is where you first learn how to do gender in compliance with societal norms; the creation and functioning of a family perpetuates society (Berk). These arguments, based on the works of Jacques Lacan and Michel Foucault, are rooted in the idea that “what we assume to be essential human characteristics are instead malleable traits fashioned by social habits,” or the idea that characteristics we assign to gender are socially-constructed, as opposed to biologically predetermined (Zaretsky).
Within and beyond philosophy, lies the tension between the universal concept of free will and determinism. From a general standpoint, individuals are convinced that they rule and govern their own lives. Free will embodies that individuals have the freedom to dictate their own future. It asserts that our minds and essence have the capacity to choose our own actions and direction, whilst also choose alternative paths. Determinism on the other hand, suggests that life is a product of necessity and causation, built upon the foundations of the past and laws of nature. It threatens the thesis of free will by positing that the world and everything in it is knowable through strict cause and effect relationships - eliminating the possibility of freedom
The first main factor that is said to influence gender is biology. “Nature doesn’t give a flea’s hind leg for our social theories, fads, fashions, political ideologies and other nutty ideas with which people preoccupy themselves (*). This quote explains the argument on the side of biology. People who support this ideology believe that the major biological differences between males and females must most greatly influence our gender development because of their numerous studies.