A Substantial Inheritance

HEREDITARIANISM is on the march. Nature is clobbering nurture. A steady drip, drip,drip of scientific studies is cumulatively telling us that more and more human traits are genetically influenced. Some of the findings are based on studies of twins and adoptions; others have been generated by research in molecular biology and related hard sciences. The media have shown a particular interest in recent data linking genes to sexual orientation, alcoholism, violent and criminal behavior, and obesity, not to mention cheating on wives. “Infidelity: It may be in our genes,” proclaimed the August 15 Time cover. The cover story, by Robert Wright, was based on his new book, The Moral Animal: Evolutionary Psychology and Everyday Life, a work heavily influenced by the science of sociobiology— which has also generated a lot of data linking genes to human behavior.

Mr. Seligman, a Fortune columnist, is the author of A Question of Intelligence: The IQ Debate in America (Citadel).

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Daniel Seligman

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HEREDITARIANISM is on the march. Nature is clobbering nurture. A steady drip, drip,drip of scientific studies is cumulatively telling us that more and more human traits are genetically influenced. Some of the findings are based on studies of twins and adoptions; others have been generated by research in molecular biology and related hard sciences. The media have shown a particular interest in recent data linking genes to sexual orientation, alcoholism, violent and criminal behavior, and obesity, not to mention cheating on wives. “Infidelity: It may be in our genes,” proclaimed the August 15 Time cover. The cover story, by Robert Wright, was based on his new book, The Moral Animal: Evolutionary Psychology and Everyday Life, a work heavily influenced by the science of sociobiology— which has also generated a lot of data linking genes to human behavior.

Mr. Seligman, a Fortune columnist, is the author of A Question of Intelligence: The IQ Debate in America (Citadel).