Edited by Richard M. Lerner and Gary Greenberg, The Heredity Hoax: Challenging Flawed Genetic Theories of Human Development is a comprehensive collection of scholarly work that systematically dismantles the premise of genetic reductionism. The core mission of the book is to challenge the “fatally flawed science” associated with accounts that view human behavior and development through a strictly determinist lens.
The book is organized around several key themes and arguments:
- The “Heredity Hoax” Defined: The editors argue that various fields—including behavior genetics, sociobiology, and evolutionary psychology—all “boil down” to the counterfactual claim that genes provide an unmodifiable blueprint for life, behavior, and development across the life span. They characterize the continued dissemination of this “bad science” in journals and the media as a hoax that perpetrates misinformation in both science and society.
- Methodological and Conceptual Shortcomings: The book highlights major flaws in reductionist models, such as the overinterpretation and misinterpretation of empirical findings. Specifically, it notes that these theories often claim genetic causality without identifying specific genes or explaining the developmental process from conception to behavior.
- The Alternative: Relational Developmental Systems (RDS): Supplanting the mechanistic view of humans as “machines” or “robots,” the book promotes the RDS framework, which views development as an emergent property of dynamic, relational, bio-social systems. This metatheory emphasizes the nature-nurture coaction, where no single variable (including genes) is privileged; instead, development is a process of mutually influential coactions between the active individual and their changing context.
- Human Plasticity and Potential: A central tenet of the book is relative plasticity—the potential for systematic change in structure or function across the life course. This concept provides a basis for optimism, suggesting that the course of development for all individuals can be enhanced through intentional interventions.
- Implications for Social Justice and Policy: The book aims to prevent “bad science” from being used to create discriminatory social policies or programs that suggest specific groups are genetically unable to succeed. By shifting the focus to how individuals and contexts interact, the authors argue for the optimistic cultivation of human flourishing and the promotion of social justice and equality.
To summarize the book’s intent through a metaphor, it seeks to replace the image of a pre-programmed machine following a fixed instruction manual with the image of an ever-evolving ecosystem, where the final outcome is not dictated by the initial parts but is constantly reshaped by the living interactions within the system.
To know more: https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/edit/10.4324/9781032702988/heredity-hoax-richard-lerner-gary-greenberg
A preview of the book: The heredity hoax
