2004/09/01 by Steven Pinker · 1 citation
Psychology · Arts and Humanities · Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · #Cognitive Abilities and Testing #Evolution and Science Education #Nutrition, Genetics, and Disease
paper · pdf · doi:10.1162/0011526042365591
openalex publication_date 2004/09/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/27
The nature-nurture debate has preoccupied psychology and the social sciences for centuries. Many writers have expressed a hope for a compromise that it will make the debate disappear.. In this view, all behavior comes from an inextricable interaction between heredity and environment, and it is a mistake to try to tease them apart. reasons, among them that it is simply false that all aspects of brain function involve a mixture of heredity and environment, and that holistic interactionism obscures our for several understanding of how the mind works. As an illustration, I discuss the case of the effects of parenting, where holistic interactionism has led to false and misleading conclusions.