Tuesday,
14 October, 2003
Genes, Behaviors, and the Brain
Kenneth Schaffner, George Washington University
12:05 p.m., 817R Cathedral of Learning
Abstract:
This talk begins by briefly reviewing the hopes and controversies
raised by behavioral (and psychiatric) genetics. Two approaches
to behavioral genetics are outlined: (1) the epidemiological or
quantitative, and (2) the molecular, along with some
important results and foundational questions about both approaches,
including concerns about the gloomy prospect. Some recent
projections from major defenders of behavioral genetics about this
field are then introduced and discussed, including the role of the
brain as an intermediary between genetics and behavior,
and the strategy of using microarrays (genetic chips) to elucidate
the relations between genes and behaviors. My talk closes with some
speculations regarding possible lessons from this inquiry for science
and technology studies, including history, philosophy, and social
studies of science, and relates these lessons to developmentalism
and what might be called the disastrous prospect.
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