David C. Glass - Biology and Behavior Genetics (1968)

 

Preface

 

Contemporary social scientists no longer adhere to a simplistic environmental determinism, just as contemporary biologists no longer embrace a genetic determinism. In both fields there is increasing recognition of the importance of an interaction between the organism and the environment. Neither the genetic parameter nor the environmental parameter alone can account for more than a portion of behavioral variability. With the development of this interactional approach, a revitalized interest in the genetic basis of social behavior has been witnessed. On November 18-19, 1966, Russell Sage Foundation and The Rockefeller University, in collaboration with the Social Science Research Council, sponsored a conference on genetics and behavior in Caspary Auditorium on the Rockefeller campus in New York City. The organization of the meeting was guided by the premise that recent advances in genetics portend serious social, ethical, and legal consequences. It is important that both biological and social scientists study these consequences. Social scientists, in particular, are equipped by training and are implicitly committed to make substantial contributions in this area. However, they often lack the knowledge of behavior genetics necessary for sophisticated analysis of the social consequences of new knowledge resulting from research on genetics. The specialist in genetics, on the other hand, often lacks the interest or skill necessary for examination of the broad implications of this research. The purpose of the conference was to enable participants drawn from both groups of scientists to benefit from exposure to the work of representatives of the other.

- DAVID C. GLASS
Russell Sage Foundation and
The Rockefeller University