Genetics
... of momentum, fueled by facts on both sides. No one can argue seriously with the idea that genes make important contributions to personality. Animal breeders long have known that it takes only a few generations of controlled mating to influence such behavioral traits as fierceness or tameness in dogs. In people, as many researchers have shown, genetic factors influence how outgoing, fearful, or aggressive we are, as well as the likelihood that we will develop depression, anxiety disorders, or schizophrenia. At the same time, the influence on a child's development of the environment in which he or she grows up is also so well substantiated, both scientifically and by common sense, as to hardly need elaboration. For example, Harris doesn't dismiss the role of environment, but rather the importance of parents in the child's environment. She notes that children raised in orphanages can turn out just fine, citing the fact that many of them marry and have children. It seems important to ask not whether they have families and children, but rather how those families do. In fact, Harris seems to avoid asking whether the way a child is raised influences the way that child will act as a parent. She admits that "children without parents are unhappier." But she goes on to say, "The things that make babies (or grownups) miserable do not necessarily have long-term consequences." This is clearly wrong: Stressful experiences can drastically alter impor...