The Genetic Argument: Understanding that Social Advancement is our Collective Responsibility

American neuroscientist, Dr. Robert Sapolsky, states that there is a widespread and dangerous notion that has taken root in our dominant scientific understanding of human behavior.  The notion is we believe that human behavior is genetically determined.  This deterministic view of life suggests life is rooted in biology and genetics, that we are our genes, and that genes cannot be changed.  This notion is used to support the view that human nature is governed by an innate self-interest, a trait we developed through evolution.  This notion suggests that mental health conditions, addictions, most of our physical disease, and or violence could be explained in respect to our genetic inheritance.  This is a dangerous notion because if we suppose this to be true we do not have to worry about changing the social pre-conditions that fosters social dysfunction.

Dr. Gabor Mate, a physician and addiction specialist, states that this is the "genetic argument."  It allows us the luxury of ignoring past and present historical and social factors as they relate to our modern day social ills.  Dr. Mate, Dr. Sapolsky, and others, believe that the genetic argument is a cop out.

"Most complex conditions might have a predisposition that has a genetic component, but a predisposition is not the same as a per-determination." - Dr. Gabor Mate

Gabor Mate suggests that no condition is solely genetically determined.  He understands that there is a genetic influence, but his claim is that the environment in which we live in and take part in determines, ultimately, which genes will express themselves and which will not.  In support of this claim he highlighted a breast cancer study that found that for every 100 women with breast cancer, only 7 of these women will carry the breast cancer gene.  And out of all the women who do have the breast cancer gene, not all of them will get breast cancer.  It would seem logical then to state that the stressful and toxic environment in which we live has a greater influence over the development of breast cancer than the genetic influence itself.

Given our stressful way of life we allow our genetic predispositions for violence, apathy, and greed to explode into epidemic proportion.  I will go into the social institutional influences in a latter post, but as we start to explore this topic I suggest we start looking at the importance of childhood.  British researcher, Richard Wilkinson, states that child rearing strongly effects gene expression.  I feel that Dr. Mate and Dr. Sapolsky would agree.  It is scientific fact that within the first five years of life most of our neuronal connections undergo development [source].  Childhood is the point in the human lifespan where we are most susceptible to the ills of our society.

There is a term in neuroscience called Neural Darwinism.  The term suggests that the brain circuits that get the appropriate input from the environment will develop optimally, and if these neural circuits do not get the proper input they will not develop properly or at all.  So for example, if you put a child with perfectly good eyesight at birth in a dark room for five years this child will be blind for the remainder of his or her life.  This is because the circuits for vision require light waves for their development.  Without this light the vision circuits become weak and eventually die [source].

In a significant way our early experiences shape our adult behavior and dispositions.  Note that physical input, as well as emotional input, from the environment influences neuronal development and gene expression within children.  So therefore, if children are not raised in a way where they are safe and compassionately engaged they grow up to see the world as an insecure and untrusting place.  They become "wired" this way.

Each parental experience is the gateway into future, not only for their offspring, but for their community and beyond.  I understand we live a stressful life, but our adversity as parents is passed onto children.  Our emotional disposition, after a stressful day, gets passed onto our children.  How nurturing or how apathetic we our towards our children paints the picture of how children will develop to see, experience, and relate to the world.  Our genomes can be expressed in a multitude of ways.  Some genes become activated while others stay dormant.  Yet this process depends on how we develop within our environment after birth [as well as while we are in the womb].  That is why parenting is one of the most important social responsibilities.

We need to understand that our societies most violent criminals were victims of forms of substantial child abuse.  Violent people are not just violent because they are "wired" that way.  Society breeds violence.  Communities breed violent people.  People breed violent people.  And if we are going to progress socially we need to all become responsible for the way in which our society operates.

We need to realize that we pattern our social and political arrangements according to the dominant vision of our physical reality.  And as it stands now our dominant view of reality is that people are "the way god made them," or that "they just are the way they are," or that a person is mentally ill because their "disease" is "genetically determined."  For how long are we going to stay in denial and stay stubborn?  Isn't it time to observe and question our dominant views of reality?  If we are going to create a great society we need to.

The Buddha argued that everything depends on everything else.  The "leaf contains the sun, the sky, and the Earth." And in terms of human development and progress everything is connected.  The same goes with genetic expression.  Our genetic expression changes in tandem with the evolution of our collective social ideologies.

There is undoubtedly a genetic contribution as to how we respond to our environment, but there is also something about the human experience that gives us power over inheritance.  That power exist in the form of awareness and choice.  Herein lies our ability to influence the evolution of our species.  I feel that this is a moral dilemma because it has to do with our collective will and intention.

Essentially, we are one human community and if we do not take individual and communal responsibility for the ills we see in society we will never progress and move forward out of this violent and cruel dog eat dog world.  It is not our inherent nature to be purely self interested.  So I ask all of us, myself included, can we expand our perceptions and take responsibility for what we see?  At this critical juncture in human civilization it is of utmost importance to do the best we can to create supportive, nurturing, and symbiotic environmental structures if we want the prosperous future we really desire


Links to the researchers in this post:
Dr. Gabor Mate
Dr. Robert Sapolsky
Dr. Richard G. Wilkinson

Relationships: How Intimacy Leads to Personal Growth

It seems that couples that allow their partners to safely feel intimate create a relationship that inspires personal growth.  To know if your relationship is one that allows you to safely feel intimate ask yourself if you feel safe becoming emotionally exposed.  When you attempt to no longer hide behind your defenses you allow yourself to be vulnerable.  Yet as we all know, being vulnerable does not come easy. 

Intimate relationships are good for our own personal evolution because they give us clear perspective into our behavior.  Relationships give us opportunities too see how the past, with all of its cumulative experience, has shaped how we relate to our partner today.  Thus relationships become an experience to which we can change the way in which the past may have a hold on us.  We can change the way we relate to the present by tracing the roots of the emotions that surface during times of heightened emotion.  Awareness gives us the power to evolve past old ways of being that no longer serve us.  Awareness gives us control by holding the past accountable for how we react in the now.  Forgiveness is the means that allows us to move on with the control gained through awareness.  When you realize that that you are no longer the impulse that pushes you to act or feel something you are given the power to evolve through those old engrained behaviors and feelings.

A healthy relationship is bound to make you expand on the notions you have about yourself.  It does this by forcing you to break free of your emotional isolation and share your life with another.  This is the essence of intimacy.  We become intimate because with this emotional exchange we make ourselves susceptible to showing our partners our “dark side.” We all enter relationships with emotional baggage.  Nobody is flawless.

As a side note: if you fear reveling yourself to your partner to the degree to which it makes you suppress aspects of yourself…is it a relationship you want to be in?

A healthy relationship allows you to explore your emotional baggage together. The two people in relationship do this by accepting each other how they are.  Yet, this does not mean we stubbornly stay the same, ignoring our partner’s feelings that hope we may want to better ourselves for the sake of a better relationship.  Sincere acceptance of your partner gives your loved one a safe place to observe the “not so good qualities” they may have.  Subsequently, the love you share for each other encourages the two of you to evolve out of the emotional patterns that do not suit you anymore.  This is how a healthy relationship sustains growth and personal evolution.

Yet all good relationships do hit their “roadblocks.” Without clearly communicating to each other there is bound to be incongruence, dissonance, and strife within the relationship.  Often times those relating may be too selfish to look within and take ownership for the reasons that their relationship has become challenged. Complicating the matter, those who act selfishly within the relationship may become defense upon hearing their partner’s criticism.  Furthermore, one or both of the partners may be too afraid to voice their concerns.  Those who are unwilling to voice their concerns may emotionally shut off.  Either way, the relationship is on a course that may lead to its demise.  It is important to realize though that whenever a dissonance arises within a relationship it speaks to an incongruence someone is having in his or her own personal life.

If there is a partner within the relationship that is having a hard time being aware to their partners concerns, this speaks to their inability to be emotionally present within the relationship.  To be emotionally present within a relationship goes hand in hand being emotionally present within.  The relationship is a mirror into yourself.  Yet it is always good to remember that being vulnerable and “showing up” emotionally within the context of a relationship is an act of courage.  It is this act of courage that allows you to shed conscious awareness into the unconscious aspects of self that are getting in the way of a harmonious relationship. 

When unconscious emotional and behavior patters get in the way of the harmony of the relationship it is time for the love that the two people have for each other to support the personal work that can be undertaken.  During difficult times it is important to remember what has brought you to this point.  The meaning is not lost if those who are in relationship can put their ego aside and remember the significance of their partnership and how far it has brought them.  Having this empathy for each other, despite hard times, allows the two of you to communicate again.

Nurturing relationships exemplify patience and care.  These relationships allow partners to illuminate their vulnerabilities to each other.  It allows for the two to propel each other forward by bringing these aspects of egotistical selfishness and or their own fears of being heard into their own conscious awareness.  Love and acceptance propel us then to dismantle these “not so good qualities” and grow into higher aspects of yourself.  Personal growth is achieved independently, but it is healthy and conscious communication that supports this personal growth.

In conclusion, the reward of communicating and being honest not only with your partner, but with yourself, is lasting love.  Love is the outcome when the two of you accept each other for being exactly who you are yet all the while encourage each other to evolve into the people you desire to become.