Back at mid-summer, one day we wandered into a controversy over a possible link between biology and political attitudes that NatureLover, for one, entered into with gusto (as you might figure an MD would). Well, he’s just sent me a link to a new article in Science magazine, which the authors introduce as follows:
In the past 50 years, biologists have learned a tremendous amount about human brain function and its genetic basis. At the same time, political scientists have been intensively studying the effect of the social and institutional environment on mass political attitudes and behaviors. However, these separate fields of inquiry are subject to inherent limitations that may only be resolved through collaboration across disciplines. We describe recent advances and argue that biologists and political scientists must work together to advance a new science of human nature.
If you’re interested in this topic, you might enjoy yourself there . . .
I’ve been coming more and more to believe that for some or many, politics is by way of nature more than nurture/environment.
How else to explain the smart, earnest, decent, honest folks who believe stuff I know to be abslolutely crazy? I can discount the jerks, but I’ve always been troubled by the seemingly good ones.
Heh.
Loved that study released a few years ago after tracking kids for 20 years. Those who were whiners tended to become conservatives. (The rebuttal: These were Berkley kids.)
And just weeks ago another study found that conservatives are more easily startled by threatening images or sounds. That sure explains the tenor of their Obama-bashing.