Genetics & Human Behavior

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Genetics & Human Behavior

The world of Genetics is one that is both fascinating and interesting. When tackling how genetics plays a role in behavior, one must look within the scope of what genetics is before dealing with how it plays a significant role in one’s behavior. Simply put, genetics is the study of genes. It is a biological component within the entire study of biology itself. Scientists who study genetics and perform research do so with the intent to learn more about how genetics affects the overall attitudes, behaviors and dispositions of individuals. It could be said that genetics is somewhat of a psychological-biological science as researchers look at the underlying patterns within the genes that cause certain patterns to emerge within the particular group or individual.

One aspect of genetics is human cloning. There is a vast amount of criticism with regard to human cloning; however, there are some benefits to it. The first question that comes to mind with human cloning is why clone in the first place. Scientists have to be able to justify the purpose of human cloning and by doing so it blurs the lines between ethics and morality in proportion with the overall benefits of cloning itself. Two popular justifications of human cloning are utility and autonomy. The former concept deals primarily with the benefits of human cloning while the latter, looks at it from a values/perspectives standpoint.

Some examples of the utility justification are:

“1) By having clones, people can, in some measure, have more of themselves in the world and thereby make a bigger impact.

2) Parents can replace a dying child with a genetically identical new one.

3) Parents can produce a clone of a ...

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... Berkeley: Department of Nuclear Engineering website: http://www.nuc.berkeley.edu/courses/classes/NE-24%20Olander/Equalitarinism_vs_Hereditarinism.htm

3) Heritability: Introduction [Report/Document]. (2011). Retrieved from University of Colorado at Boulder: Department of Psychology and Neuroscience website: http://psych.colorado.edu/~carey/hgss/hgssapplets/heritability/heritability.intro.html

4) Kilner, J. (2002, November 15). Human Cloning. Retrieved from The Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity website: http://cbhd.org/content/human-cloning

5) Powell, K. (2010, July 19). Nature vs. Nurture: Are We Really Born That Way? [About.com Guide]. Retrieved from http://genealogy.about.com/cs/geneticgenealogy/a/nature_nurture.htm

6) Wine, J. J. (2000). Genes and Behavior. Cognitive Neuroscience, Retrieved from http://www.stanford.edu/~wine/202/g-and-b.html

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