Mean Genes: Terry Burnham And Jay Phelan

In the modern world, mankind is surrounding by a plethora of unique animals, plants, and other organism that have a certain natural design all their own. For instance, every organism appears to be best suited in their natural environment, as they are usually able thrive under unique conditions that may not optimal for every organism. Thus, it would appear as though divine intervention was necessary for this perfect design and placement of an organism into their environment. Consequently, this was the ideology for many centuries until Charles Darwin explained how these “illusions” fit into his theory of natural selection. Charles Darwin’s theory of natural selection stated that the process by which forms of life having traits that better enable them to adapt to specific environmental pressures, such as predators, changes in climate, or competition for food or mates, will tend to survive and reproduce in greater numbers than others of their kind, thus ensuring the perpetuation of those favorable traits in succeeding generations (Cite). Although it is widely accepted that many of human’s physical traits are inherited from their parents, the notion that the mind has evolved and is designed to function is certain ways is still controversial (Cite). With that being said, the majority of theories that illustrate how the mind develops are still being debated. Moreover, the

Gregory Stock, in his article Choosing Our Genes, asserts that at this point not ethics are important, but rather the future of genetic technology. Stock supports his conclusion by providing powerful examples of how genetic modifications can benefit our population anywhere from correcting genes at the time of conception to extending lifespan. He wants to inform his audience about all of the benefits of genetic technology in order to prove that there are way more advantages in this technology that are highly desirable by people of different ages. He reaches his readers by writing a very detailed yet coherent article that brings awareness to various groups of people from parents to be to older populations.

The theory of evolution through natural selection was proposed by Charles Darwin in the 1800s. This theory shows that our behaviours have changed over time as the result of our physical characteristics adapting to its environment over time. This is a biological approach as our genes are what influence our behaviour. Human’s adaptive social behaviour supports the theory of evolution as cuddling with children creates a feeling of warmth and security which replicates the feeling of being in the womb. Wundt’s introspective experiment had its strengths and limitations. The experiment provided an insight on a human’s personal mental processes. But there could be a problem with the validity of the results because the participant may choose not to be 100% truthful with the content of their thoughts in fear of, for example, embarrassment. Another limitation is that we don’t always learn things the same way so humans can learn from the past. They take a different approach the second time

Debt The first chapter of Mean Genes talks about debt and the affect on humans and our irresponsible spending habits. There are a lot of examples and explanation on why we spend so much to get ourselves in debt and it also talks about solutions to fix or get rid of debt. Throughout the chapter there are many analogies between animals and humans. An example used is when it is winter time, squirrels try there hardest to store as much nuts as possible so when they have their babies in the spring they will have enough food so the newborns can survive, this relates back to humans because in order for “ human survival and reproduction” they need to save money which we as Americans can’t do because in America they promote earning and spending culture unlike in some countries like Japan where they don’t promote that but rather

Although Charles Darwin is usually just looked at in the light of purely biology, his work that impacted other fields such as psychology or his work that lead to the rapid expansion of certain fields such as ethology, is often looked over. Darwin’s work impacted these fields both directly and indirectly at such a level of influence that some people believe that psychology should be looked at as pre- and post-Darwin. On the Origin of Species, while being primarily about biological phenomena and theories, was one of these works that impacted psychology indirectly. Other than giving a new perspective for psychologists to possess when contemplating different ideas, Darwin’s work on natural selection lead to the creation of evolutionary psychology.

Fifty years ago two men James Watson, and Francis Crick discovered the structure of DNA, the sequence that makes up everything in life from humans to eagles. DNA controls everything from hair color, athleticism, cancer, and intelligence through genes. From this discovery, a new field of science formed called genetic engineering, where they studied the DNA makeup of living things. Eventually acquiring the ability to modify the genes genetic engineers could modify genes to receive the desired outcome according to their own design. Starting small using bacteria and gradually getting larger they began to transfer genes successfully from species to species, these ideas eventually made their way toward human evolution. Everyone wants their children

Even before Charles Darwin or Gregor Mendel proposed their theories of selection and genetics, man was modifying living species. The understanding of the genome led to an

The idea that our genetic code controls most aspects of our lives is arguable. Nowadays, scientists (cell biologists, neuroscientists, etc.) are uncovering concrete evidence that are genetic code is only one of the many complex system of the human body that sways our lives. According to one new study, (“Do

Evolutionary psychology is a specialist field within the spectrum of psychological enquiry, which seeks to examine and understand some of the predominant reasoning behind the concept of why the human species, whilst biologically similar to other species on the planet, is so very distinct in terms of intelligence and mental progression; demonstrated by the multifaceted and complex social structures we have created. Primary to this domain of evolutionary psychological interest is the notion of ‘theory of mind’, which was developed

The fundamental question that has been around for centuries is this aspect of “What it Means To Be Human?. What are the defining characteristics that make us different from animals?. There are so many different features and theories that can be used to answer this particular question. Humans are such complex beings; they consist of emotions, diverse behaviours and physical characteristics. Humans are a distinct species that differ from others species in the world. It can be difficult to pinpoint this difference because humans allow their emotions to ultimately make their decisions. Humans act based on a variety of factors that are learned or inherited through genetics. The real question is how much of our genetics effect our thinking and decision

The central purpose of this essay is to critically discuss the importance of understanding human evolution and the history of psychology for the modern psychologist. For the human evolution, the essay will be addressing on how we and other species descended from our ancestors and how the different environment has helped to us to become more adaptable. Regarding the history of psychology, the essay will be discussing on how psychology branched off from the philosophy approach to become its own science. The essay will then go on discussing how the understanding of both human evolution and history of psychology would be used by modern psychologist.

Genetics is the study of heredity and variation in living organisms. biological Anthropology looks at how biological traits from one generation to the next get passed along. The article describes gene therapy and human genetic engineering as an evolution indicating that by allowing tools such as gene therapy we underestimate the amount of influence it may have on our species. The gene therapy has helped human species develop and understand more about viruses and and certain diseases that have developed and evolved throughout evolution. Genetics also helps understand what humans have in common and what distinctive from other species. “Biological adaptations is the process in which humans, as both individuals and groups, develop biological characteristics that relate to environmental conditions”

The theories of human evolution may always cause a heated dispute. Each theory presents its own evidence proving

I decided to look more in to the topic of DNA. The main question of the article, The Structure of DNA: Cooperation and Competition was “How do living things pass on traits to their offspring?”. The conversation started in the 19th century when Gregor Mendel realized that there were patterns to a person’s traits but wasn’t sure how or what caused these patterns. It wasn’t until the middle of the 20th century that scientists were able to use new technology to discover that genetic code was carried on chromosomes. Through collaboration, four scientists, James Watson, Rosalind Franklin, Francis Crick and Maurice Wilkins worked in teams to figure out how this genetic code worked. Wilkins and Franklin, along with Raymond Gosling, used Xray technology

There has been a lot of scientific research done into genetics, genetic crosses and inheritance enabling us to understand why we have the certain characteristics and traits that we do, how we inherited them and how we can pass them on. It’s because of this research that we can understand and learn about our genetic makeup and why it effects the way we are.