Making Sense of Heritability

Front cover
......Page 1
Title page
......Page 6
Copyright
......Page 7
Contents......Page 10
Figures......Page 12
Acknowledgments......Page 13
Introduction......Page 16
1.1
 A convenient jingle of words......Page 26
1.2 
No fair hearing for francis galton......Page 31
1.3 
Heritability 101......Page 33
1.4 
Can monomorphic traits be heritable?......Page 43
1.5 
Philosophers at work: CAVEAT LECTOR!......Page 48
1.5.1 G or not g, that is the question
......Page 49
1.5.2 
Measure for (mis)measure......Page 52
1.5.3 The shadow of Cyril Burt......Page 57
1.5.4 Racism ex nihilo......Page 60
2.1 
Two concepts of interaction......Page 63
2.2 
The rectangle analogy......Page 66
2.3 
Lewontin against anova......Page 71
2.4 
Non-additivity......Page 75
2.5 
Locality......Page 90
2.6 
Causal irrelevance......Page 96
2.7 
The second look at interactions......Page 101
3. Lost in correlations? Direct and indirect 
genetic causes......Page 104
3.1.1 The redheads example......Page 105
3.1.2 Three types of G–E correlation......Page 107
3.1.3 R. C. Roberts: the witness for the prosecution?......Page 111
3.1.4 The concept of “environment”: broad and narrow......Page 112
3.1.5 Does twin research necessarily underestimate 
environmental influences?......Page 114
3.1.6 What Falconer did not say......Page 116
3.1.7 No “violent conflict” with common sense......Page 118
3.2 The methodological route: tracing the paths 
of causality......Page 120
3.2.1 The equal environments assumption......Page 122
3.2.2 Ignorance of causal mechanisms......Page 125
3.2.3 Testing EEA......Page 128
3.2.4 False support from behavior genetics......Page 130
3.2.5 The “attractiveness-IQ” scenario......Page 131
3.3 
The sociologist’s fallacy......Page 136
4. 
From individuals to groups: genetics and race......Page 142
4.1 
The “master argument”......Page 143
4.2 
Ve theories......Page 153
4.3 
X-factor theories......Page 155
4.4 
Unfair to facts......Page 157
4.5 
The hereditarian strikes back......Page 163
5.1 
Genetic and environmental causation......Page 168
5.2 
Pku......Page 172
5.3 
Local modifiability and modifiability “in principle”......Page 177
5.4 
Comparing apples and oranges......Page 184
5.5 
A clumsy attempt to appease the critics......Page 192
5.6 
Limits to egalitarianism......Page 193
6. 
Science and sensitivity......Page 198
6.1 
Mistaken because politically motivated......Page 199
6.2 
Politically motivated because mistaken......Page 201
6.3 
Consequential fallacy......Page 208
6.3.1 Irrationalism with a human face......Page 210
6.3.2 . . . and it is self-defeating too......Page 214
6.4 
Double standards......Page 216
6.5 
From “is” to “ought,” non-fallaciously......Page 223
6.6 
Looking into the abyss......Page 227
6.7 
From groups to individuals......Page 232
6.8 
Fair, therefore biased?......Page 239
7. 
Conclusion......Page 244
References......Page 250
Index......Page 274