Biological Determinism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Biological Determinism - Essay Example Biological determinism is an invalid theory that is maintained in the popular culture to serve various extremist political ends. Biological determinism contends that our genetic makeup is responsible for our appearance, mental condition and abilities, our destiny, and the choices that we make in our day-to-day life. In addition, the theory argues that our environment and social interactions have at most only a minimal effect on shaping our social being. For example, advocates of the theory believe that genetics controls our predisposition to use alcohol, exhibit violent behavior, or become aggressively greedy. The theory makes it easy to place the responsibility for academic achievement differences among the races on biology, rather than confront an educational system that disadvantages many minority students (Naiman 31). The theory states that the role of genetics is so pronounced that the person will have no choice but to act on these forces and become the product of their DNA. Most modern thinking has discounted the effects of biological determinism and though they acknowledge its existence, they limit its inevitability.