So is it nature not nurture after all?
Andrew Anthony,
The Guardian,
Oct 01, 2018
The ideas reported in this article pose a challenge to the beliefs underlying a lot of progressive education theory. In his new book, Blueprint: How DNA Makes Us Who We Are, Robert Plomin argues that most of what makes up our personality is based on genetic, not environmental, factors. "Plomin's argument is that, in a society with universal education, the greatest part of the variation in learning abilities is accounted for by genetics, not home environment or quality of school – these factors, he says, do have an effect but it's much smaller than is popularly believed." Given the impact of nutrition on cognition, I would assume Plomin would assume a society with universal welfare as well. The objection to this view is stated by Oliver James "believes that if, as a society, we accept the heritability argument, then it will lead to blaming the poor for their own plight and privileging the rich for their good fortune. There's some really good discussion in this article, which should be read to the very end.
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