Now, there is yet another correlation between a snippet of DNA, and a behavioral trait:
'Ruthlessness gene' discovered
Dictatorial behaviour may be partly genetic, study suggests.
Published online 4 April 2008 | Nature | doi:10.1038/news.2008.738
Michael Hopkin
Selfish dictators may owe their behaviour partly to their genes, according to a study that claims to have found a genetic link to ruthlessness. The study might help to explain the money-grabbing tendencies of those with a Machiavellian streak — from national dictators down to 'little Hitlers' found in workplaces the world over.
Researchers at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem found a link between a gene called AVPR1a and ruthless behaviour in an economic exercise called the 'Dictator Game'...
The gene under study, AVPR1a, codes for vasopressin receptors (specifically, arginine vasopressin 1a receptors). Vasopressin does more that one thing. One thing is does in some creatures, in some circumstances, is to promote prosocial behaviors.
I suspect most readers here will know enough to refrain from reading too much into this.
If you have any large set of numbers, even a perfectly random set, and start comparing it to things, you will find some correlations. In the case of a random set, the correlations are meaningless.
The human genome is a large set of numbers, although not a random one. Still, there will be many correlations that don't mean anything. The AVPR1a correlation with behavior in a game may turn out to mean something, but that is far from established.
What is interesting about this is what people can read into it. For example, from Theoreo:
‘Ruthlessness gene’ discovered
April 5, 2008
Posting this as a sign of the times..
Here is an effort to say that dictatorial behaviour is not a result of sin, but because of genetics, as though people just cannot help themselves. The bible says that “There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seek after God,…..there is none that doeth good, no, not one…all have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:10,11,12, 23) People sin because they are separated from God! They do not have a “gene” to make them behave in a certain way..
I am reasonably confident that the authors of the AVPR1a study do not intend to make excuses for ruthlessness.
The original article is here:
Individual differences in allocation of funds in the dictator game associated with length of the arginine vasopressin 1a receptor RS3 promoter region and correlation between RS3 length and hippocampal mRNA
There is nothing in the article about genetic material being morally exculpatory. Describing something is separate from judging it.
Yeah, I fiddle with punctuation sometimes. Sometimes it is grammatically correct; other times not. Is that a good thing? Does the presence or absence of a genetic correlation make any difference in what judgment you make?
Comments
Ah, the evil gene: Hitler had it, Walt Disney had it, and this man has it.
Posted by: Jason Failes | April 7, 2008 8:59 PM
What's this you say? Morally exculpatory genetic material? Oh, I'm there. Now I know what to say when somebody tells me I'm a sinner who needs Jesus.
"Well, I'm sorry to hear that sir, but if you'd consult my manual, I'm quite confident that you would find that my model configuration clearly does not include assurances against the varieties of behavioural variability you claim against me. I am sorry for the inconvenience, sir, but you'll have to take this up with the manufacturer."
Ahh, if only life were that simple in the really real world.
Posted by: JM Inc. | April 18, 2008 9:38 AM