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Re: Instincts and bioprograms
Ronald Kephart (rkephart@OSPREY.UNF.EDU)
Wed, 31 Jul 1996 12:09:44 -0400
In message <Pine.HPP.3.91.960730204558.27562H-100000@huey.csun.edu> mike shupp
writes:
> Leaving the question of whether genes for
> mothering behavior are still present in the species (producing some
> sort of drive mediated by our brains and our culture), or whether the
> whole process is now _only_ a product of culture.
>
> I find the latter possibility a bit nerve-wracking.
Mike (et al.),
We probably don't need to think of it as all one or all the other. It's an
interaction of genes and culture. Genes provide the framework within which
socially and culturally constructed parenting behavior occurs. Which is why
we're not having public debates about denying welfare to mal-enculturated teens
who eat their newborn babies (now THAT would be nerve-wracking!).
Ron Kephart
University of North Florida
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