Researchers in the field of behavioral genetics have asserted claims for a genetic basis to numerous behaviors, including homosexuality, aggression, alcoholism, and nurturing. Furthermore, a growing scientific and popular focus on genes and behavior has contributed to a resurgence of behavioral genetic determinism -- the belief that genetics is the major factor in determining behavior. Just recently commentators have blamed the international economic crisis on the innate greed of our consumer "have it all now" society.
Are behaviors inbred, written indelibly in our genes as immutable biological imperatives, or is the environment more important in shaping our thoughts and actions? What are the social consequences of genetic diagnoses of such traits as intelligence, criminality, or homosexuality? How much of our behavior can be attributed to our hardwiring?
Bio
Ron Bailey
Ronald Bailey is the award-winning science correspondent for
Reason magazine and Reason.com, where he writes a weekly
science and technology column.
Dr. Stuart Derbyshire is a senior lecturer in the School of Psychology, University of Birmingham. Derbyshire has recently worked in the U.S. as Assistant Professor at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center in the Department of Anesthesiology, and as Assistant Professor at the UCLA/CURE Neuroenteric Disease Program in the VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System.
Derbyshire has also been a Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Pittsburgh in the Departments of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine. Derbyshire has published extensively in the area of medicine, particularly around the scientific understanding of pain.
Kristene Doyle
Dr. Kristene Doyle is the Associate Executive Director of the Albert Ellis Institute. She is also the Director of Clinical Services and Director of Child and Family Services at the Ellis Institute and an Adjunct Assistant Professor at St. John's University.
She received her Ph.D. in clinical and school psychology from Hofstra University and a Doctor of Science degree from the International Institute for the Advanced Studies of Psychotherapy and Applied Mental Health. She has conducted seminars and workshops and given numerous presentations, both nationally and internationally, on Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy and its application to various mental disorders, including anxiety and depression.
Dr. Doyle has also appeared frequently on TV and radio and in newspapers across the country.
David Shenk
David Shenk is the national bestselling author of five previous books, including The Forgetting, Data Smog and The Immortal Game. He is a correspondent for TheAtlantic.com, and has contributed to National Geographic, Slate, The New York Times, Gourmet, Harper's, The New Yorker, NPR, and PBS.
Shenk's new book, The Genius in All of Us was published by Doubleday on March 9, 2010.
Shenk's book The Immortal Game: A History of Chess (Doubleday, 2006), was hailed as "superb," by The Wall Street Journal, "fresh and fascinating" by The Chicago Sun-Times, "engaging" by The Washington Post, and "a thrilling tour" by Entertainment Weekly. Shenk speaks frequently on the history, biology and social urgency of Alzheimer's disease. He has also advised the President's Council on Bioethics on dementia-related issues.
Prior to that, Shenk published two books and dozens of essays on the emotional, social and political ramifications of the information revolution.
Jean Smith
Jean Smith is a professional fundraiser based in New York and co-founder and director of the NY Salon. Before settling in Brooklyn, Jean Smith was based in England where she co-founded and directed a major volunteer-led arts organization providing a platform for artists to show their work which otherwise might be ignored by mainstream venues.
Her work to challenge perceptions of people with disabilities and people living with mental illness has provided an open platform for debate on the issue and she has developed practical strategies to enable more productive, independent living.
Study of heredity in general and of genes in particular. Modern genetics began in the 19th century with the work of Gregor Mendel, who formulated the basic concepts of heredity. In 1909 the word gene was coined by Wilhelm Johannsen, thus giving genetics its name. In the same year, Thomas Hunt Morgan provided evidence that genes occur on chromosomes and that adjacent genes on the same chromosome form linkage groups. This led to the important discovery that genes affect molecular action at the cell level, as evidenced by human hereditary diseases such as inborn errors of metabolism. Molecular genetics began in earnest in the 1940s when Oswald Avery showed that DNA is the chromosome component that carries genetic information. The molecular structure of DNA was deduced by James D. Watson, Francis Crick, and Maurice Wilkins. These and other developments led to the deciphering of the genetic code of the DNA molecule, which in turn made possible the recombination techniques of genetic engineering, discovered in the 1970s. An understanding of genetics is necessary for the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of hereditary diseases, the selective breeding of plants and animals, and the development of industrial processes that use microorganisms. See alsobehaviour genetics; biotechnology.
The study of the interaction of heredity and environment insofar as they affect behaviour. The question of the determinants of behaviour, commonly called the “nature-nurture” controversy, was initially investigated by English scientist Sir Francis Galton. A balanced view that recognized the importance of both genetics and environment prevailed in the 1970s. Modern research is focused on identifying genes that affect behavioral dimensions, such as personality and intelligence, and disorders, such as depression and hyperactivity. Two quasi-experimental methods of study, the twin method and the adoption method, are used to quantify the genetic and environmental contributions to an individual's behaviour.
@Jon: There was a lengthy back and forth Q&A session with the audience, but unfortunately the video footage had some technical issues and we were not able to salvage it. Apologies for any inconvenience.
Is this the entire event? Seems far too short for FOUR speakers. Basically just enough time to give a brief talk and then... nothing ?
The one I agreed with most came at the start, and there were three views that were discordant with his to different degrees and I would like to have heard their responses to each other, this seems like a fraction of a talk.
member. 
