Are We Slaves to Our Genes?

Are We Slaves to Our Genes? PDF Author: Denis Alexander
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781108566520
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description

Are We Slaves to Our Genes?

Are We Slaves to Our Genes? PDF Author: Denis Alexander
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781108566520
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

Get Book Here

Book Description


Are We Slaves to our Genes?

Are We Slaves to our Genes? PDF Author: Denis R. Alexander
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1108426336
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 253

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Book Description
Genetic differences can influence differences in our human behaviours, but only occasionally undermine the reality of our free will.

Genes, Determinism and God

Genes, Determinism and God PDF Author: Denis Alexander
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107141141
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 395

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Book Description
How does genetic variation impact on behavioural differences and how does this relate to free will and personal identity? Denis Alexander examines these questions.

Human Natures

Human Natures PDF Author: Paul R. Ehrlich
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 0142000531
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 545

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Book Description
Why do we behave the way we do? Biologist Paul Ehrlich suggests that although people share a common genetic code, these genes "do not shout commands at us...at the very most, they whisper suggestions." He argues that human nature is not so much result of genetic coding; rather, it is heavily influenced by cultural conditioning and environmental factors. With personal anecdotes, a well-written narrative, and clear examples, Human Natures is a major work of synthesis and scholarship as well as a valuable primer on genetics and evolution that makes complex scientific concepts accessible to lay readers.

Dance to the Tune of Life

Dance to the Tune of Life PDF Author: Denis Noble
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107176247
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 315

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Book Description
This book formulates a relativistic theory of biology, challenging the common gene-centred view of organisms.

Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome

Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome PDF Author: Joy DeGruy
Publisher: HarperCollins
ISBN: 0062692674
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
From acclaimed author and researcher Dr. Joy DeGruy comes this fascinating book that explores the psychological and emotional impact on African Americans after enduring the horrific Middle Passage, over 300 years of slavery, followed by continued discrimination. From the beginning of American chattel slavery in the 1500’s, until the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment in 1865, Africans were hunted like animals, captured, sold, tortured, and raped. They experienced the worst kind of physical, emotional, psychological, and spiritual abuse. Given such history, Dr. Joy DeGruy asked the question, “Isn’t it likely those enslaved were severely traumatized? Furthermore, did the trauma and the effects of such horrific abuse end with the abolition of slavery?” Emancipation was followed by another hundred years of institutionalized subjugation through the enactment of Black Codes and Jim Crow laws, peonage and convict leasing, and domestic terrorism and lynching. Today the violations continue, and when combined with the crimes of the past, they result in further unmeasured injury. What do repeated traumas visited upon generation after generation of a people produce? What are the impacts of the ordeals associated with chattel slavery, and with the institutions that followed, on African Americans today? Dr. DeGruy answers these questions and more as she encourages African Americans to view their attitudes, assumptions, and emotions through the lens of history. By doing so, she argues they will gain a greater understanding of the impact centuries of slavery and oppression has had on African Americans. Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome is an important read for all Americans, as the institution of slavery has had an impact on every race and culture. “A masterwork. [DeGruy’s] deep understanding, critical analysis, and determination to illuminate core truths are essential to addressing the long-lived devastation of slavery. Her book is the balm we need to heal ourselves and our relationships. It is a gift of wholeness.”—Susan Taylor, former Editorial Director of Essence magazine

She Has Her Mother's Laugh

She Has Her Mother's Laugh PDF Author: Carl Zimmer
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1101984600
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 727

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Book Description
2019 PEN/E.O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award Finalist "Science book of the year"—The Guardian One of New York Times 100 Notable Books for 2018 One of Publishers Weekly's Top Ten Books of 2018 One of Kirkus's Best Books of 2018 One of Mental Floss's Best Books of 2018 One of Science Friday's Best Science Books of 2018 “Extraordinary”—New York Times Book Review "Magisterial"—The Atlantic "Engrossing"—Wired "Leading contender as the most outstanding nonfiction work of the year"—Minneapolis Star-Tribune Celebrated New York Times columnist and science writer Carl Zimmer presents a profoundly original perspective on what we pass along from generation to generation. Charles Darwin played a crucial part in turning heredity into a scientific question, and yet he failed spectacularly to answer it. The birth of genetics in the early 1900s seemed to do precisely that. Gradually, people translated their old notions about heredity into a language of genes. As the technology for studying genes became cheaper, millions of people ordered genetic tests to link themselves to missing parents, to distant ancestors, to ethnic identities... But, Zimmer writes, “Each of us carries an amalgam of fragments of DNA, stitched together from some of our many ancestors. Each piece has its own ancestry, traveling a different path back through human history. A particular fragment may sometimes be cause for worry, but most of our DNA influences who we are—our appearance, our height, our penchants—in inconceivably subtle ways.” Heredity isn’t just about genes that pass from parent to child. Heredity continues within our own bodies, as a single cell gives rise to trillions of cells that make up our bodies. We say we inherit genes from our ancestors—using a word that once referred to kingdoms and estates—but we inherit other things that matter as much or more to our lives, from microbes to technologies we use to make life more comfortable. We need a new definition of what heredity is and, through Carl Zimmer’s lucid exposition and storytelling, this resounding tour de force delivers it. Weaving historical and current scientific research, his own experience with his two daughters, and the kind of original reporting expected of one of the world’s best science journalists, Zimmer ultimately unpacks urgent bioethical quandaries arising from new biomedical technologies, but also long-standing presumptions about who we really are and what we can pass on to future generations.

Root of Thought

Root of Thought PDF Author: Henry Kong
Publisher: iUniverse
ISBN: 1450222684
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 214

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Book Description
Consciousness is a clever adaptation for life as a social ape. But like all adaptations, it has its limits. Lion claws and butterfly wings are made of tissue and proteins that require proper diet and maintenance to keep their integrity. Likewise, a fully functioning conscious system is a phenomenon that requires a well-nourished neural substrate to keep it going. It is important to point out that a healthy brain is necessary but not sufficient for consciousness, because not all of the brain is conscious. There are great swaths of brain that are crucially important for maintaining the vegetative functions of homeostasis such as breathing, heartbeat, temperature, and sleep. With a hundred billion neurons and a hundred trillion synapses, the brain is the most complex adaptation known. Yet we know shockingly little about how it enables the human mind to become conscious, make decisions, believe in God, and behave morally. However, recent discoveries in cognitive neuroscience, behavioral genetics, and evolutionary psychology are beginning to revolutionize old conceptions of nature and nurture, reason and passion, and automatic versus willfully chosen actions. Root of Thought will take readers on a remarkable journey through the landscape of the mind in search of its biological basis.

The Invisible History of the Human Race

The Invisible History of the Human Race PDF Author: Christine Kenneally
Publisher: ReadHowYouWant.com
ISBN: 1458798704
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 477

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Book Description
A New York Times Notable Book of 2014 We are doomed to repeat history if we fail to learn from it, but how are we affected by the forces that are invisible to us? What role does Neanderthal DNA play in our genetic makeup? How did the theory of eugenics embraced by Nazi Germany first develop? How is trust passed down in Africa, and silence inherited in Tasmania? How are private companies like Ancestry.com uncovering, preserving and potentially editing the past? In The Invisible History of the Human Race, Christine Kenneally reveals that, remarkably, it is not only our biological history that is coded in our DNA, but also our social history. She breaks down myths of determinism and draws on cutting - edge research to explore how both historical artefacts and our DNA tell us where we have come from and where we may be going.

Evolution and Eschatology

Evolution and Eschatology PDF Author: Graeme Finlay
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN: 1666704571
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 218

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Book Description
The genome revolution of the last twenty years has changed biology forever. It has provided stunning insights into the evolution of species (such as ours) and the development of new functional capabilities (such as placenta, brain, and immune networks). We are learning how genes make a human animal―but that loving relationships with others are required to make a human person. Random mutations, filtered by directing order, underlie evolutionary development, but also cause diseases such as cancer. We are wont to question God when faced with devastating natural and moral evils. But deeply embedded in the biblical story we encounter a Creator who has always purposed to deal with the evils of a freely operating world by extirpating them through Jesus of Nazareth, who is God incarnate.