Well, when I read the word "appreciation" in the first line of Allen's post, I wondered if he had recognized the sarcasm in my remarks and returned with his own. But then the rest of the message indicated that he took my words at face value. Of course, I couldn't have expected those outside the US to know what I intended by it. I just thought the idea that the news media in the US is predominantly right-wing (even to the extent of being able to suppress news about the genetic or environmental causation of behavior) to be patently ludicrous. That there would be insufficient coverage of the true story of genetics and human behavior due to its support of a political argument seemed delusional. I also didn't think it was entirely clear what side of the political spectrum the influence of genetics would support. Certainly, there are many on the left who would be happy to find that people are born (genetically determined) to be who they are.
Rick Dr. Rick Froman, Chair Division of Humanities and Social Sciences John Brown University Siloam Springs, AR 72761 rfro...@jbu.edu ________________________________________ From: Allen Esterson [allenester...@compuserve.com] Sent: Saturday, October 16, 2010 4:22 AM To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) Subject: Re:[tips] Are Genes Left-Wing? Rick Froman writes in appreciation of Mike Palij's quotations from Oliver James's article in The Guardian "Why genes are leftwing": >Good point. The media is widely known for their >right wing proclivities. Hey! We don't all live in the States! The most influential medium in the UK, the BBC, is hardly "right wing". And while the popular national press is predominantly right-wing, there is also a strong centrist and left-wing presence. >Just in case that might not be true, I think it might >be more productive to look for reasons that both >the right and the left might fear finding that human >behavior is largely determined by environment. Wouldn't it be more productive to spend the time checking out the evidence itself? Alternatively, may I suggest that, if are inclined to follow up your own suggestion, you might also look at the reasons why (predominantly) many on the Left might fear finding that genetic predispositions play a substantial role in human behaviour. (You could start with Oliver James. :-) ) Allen Esterson Former lecturer, Science Department Southwark College, London allenester...@compuserve.com http://www.esterson.org -------------------- From: Rick Froman <rfro...@jbu.edu> Subject: Re: Are Genes Left-Wing? Date: Fri, 15 Oct 2010 20:50:36 -0500 Good point. The media is widely known for their right wing proclivities. Just in case that might not be true, I think it might be more productive to look for reasons that both the right and the left might fear finding that human behavior is largely determined by environment. Rick --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: rfro...@jbu.edu. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13039.37a56d458b5e856d05bcfb3322db5f8a&n=T&l=tips&o=5726 or send a blank email to leave-5726-13039.37a56d458b5e856d05bcfb3322db5...@fsulist.frostburg.edu --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: arch...@jab.org. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df5d5&n=T&l=tips&o=5729 or send a blank email to leave-5729-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
