Are Genes an Excuse?

January 1, 2024 General Insights No Comments

Our genes are the most important factor shaping who we are — mentally more differentiating than all else put together. (*) Are we, therefore, not responsible for our actions?

Spoiler alert: Responsibility is saved, but very differently from what you might expect.

To make things worse

On top of the above, schools and families account for less than 5 percent of school results and mental health. The rest is comprised of mainly chance factors — or what appear to be such but may themselves also be substantially influenced by our genes.

Consciously, one doesn’t have the impression to be moved by strings of genes. At the same time, given the above and since genes are truly causal, there appears to be little room for responsibility.

Saving responsibility by broadening the scope

The above statements are scientific facts. However, they are incomplete statements because they do not take into account a possible broadening of the scope by including subconceptual processing. In other words, they are ‘true’ only in a small part of reality.

Unfortunately, most people think, feel, and act as if living in that small part.

Even more unfortunately, Western Enlightenment has pushed a whole civilization further into that ordeal. It’s time to get out while keeping the (enormous amount of) good it has brought us.

The AURELIS aim is to broaden the scope.

See many of my blogs and books — for instance, Why AureLisa?

Such broadening doesn’t change our genes, of course, but it changes the implications. This is possible because genes are seldom one-to-one correlated with clearly cut-out mental features. What they stand for is more subtle and flexible than the above ‘small part of the world’ may entice us to believe.

A question of Inner Dissociation

The total self is much broader than most people can consciously fathom. The subconceptual is an inner universe. Any genetic influence in the mental domain starts here and evolves a great deal through non-conscious means before it becomes conceptually visible. By discarding this, one also discards many options of influence.

In short, genes stay genes, but there is more room to play on a bigger playground. There are still fences, yet there is more choice, more freedom, and more possibilities to influence — therefore, also more responsibility.

One example: testosterone

As everybody knows, male genes are different from female genes. As a consequence, men have more testosterone running around their bodies. More testosterone (‘better’ genes?) means more male behavior.

Apparently — however, ‘male behavior’ can mean many things lying between creation and aggression. In a male-aggressive society, there are many male bullies on the playground. Can the sorry genes help it or not?

Different playground — same genes — different behavior.

Much wider playground — same genes — many more options for how the genetic potential gets realized.

Indeed, we can then better talk about genetic potential than genetic determination.

In my view, this is excellent. It makes us more exciting and meaningful. It also makes us more responsible, but it is a responsibility focused on Compassion, not on guilt and retribution.

It should make us more humane. We can do much to make that happen at the individual and the group level.

In our efforts to enhance mental health, it emphasizes growth rather than cure.

As such, our genes don’t disappear, but we may better use them on our shared journey toward a better world.

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(*) Robert Plomin: Blueprint: How DNA Makes Us Who We Are ― Mit Pr, 2018