A Troublesome Inheritance (Paperback)

Nicholas Wade

ISBN 10: 0143127160 / ISBN 13: 9780143127161

Editore: Penguin Putnam Inc, New York, 2015

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Paperback. A New York Times bestseller--Drawing on startling new evidence from the mapping of the genome, an explosive new account of the genetic basis of race and its role in the human story.Drawing on startling new evidence from the mapping of the genome,an explosive new account of the genetic basis of race and its role inthe human storyFewer ideas have been more toxic or harmfulthan the idea of the biological reality of race, andwith it the idea that humans of different races arebiologically different from one another. For thisunderstandable reason, the idea has been banishedfrom polite academic conversation. Arguing thatrace is more than just a social construct can get ascholar run out of town, or at least off campus, ona rail. Human evolution, the consensus view insists,ended in prehistory.Inconveniently, as Nicholas Wade argues in ATroublesome Inheritance, the consensus view cannotbe right. And in fact, we know that populationshave changed in the past few thousand years-tobe lactose tolerant, for example, and to survive athigh altitudes. Race is not a bright-line distinction;by definition it means that the more humanpopulations are kept apart, the more they evolvetheir own distinct traits under the selective pressureknown as Darwinian evolution. For many thousandsof years, most human populations stayed wherethey were and grew distinct, not just in outwardappearance but in deeper senses as well.Wade, the longtime journalist covering geneticadvances for The New York Times, draws widely onthe work of scientists who have made crucialbreakthroughs in establishing the reality of recenthuman evolution. The most provocative claims inthis book involve the genetic basis of human socialhabits. What we might call middle-class socialtraits-thrift, docility, nonviolence-have beenslowly but surely inculcated genetically withinagrarian societies, Wade argues. These "values"obviously had a strong cultural component, butWade points to evidence that agrarian societiesevolved away from hunter-gatherer societies insome crucial respects. Also controversial are hisfindings regarding the genetic basis of traits weassociate with intelligence, such as literacy andnumeracy, in certain ethnic populations, includingthe Chinese and Ashkenazi Jews.Wade believes deeply in the fundamentalequality of all human peoples. He also believes thatscience is best served by pursuing the truth withoutfear, and if his mission to arrive at a coherent summaof what the new genetic science does and does nottell us about race and human history leads straightinto a minefield, then so be it. This will not be thelast word on the subject, but it will begin a powerfuland overdue conversation. "First published., 2014."--Title page verso. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Codice articolo 9780143127161

Dati bibliografici

• Titolo: A Troublesome Inheritance (Paperback)
• Editore: Penguin Putnam Inc, New York
• Data di pubblicazione: 2015
• Lingua: Inglese
• ISBN 10: 0143127160
• ISBN 13: 9780143127161
• Rilegatura: Paperback
• Condizione: new

Descrizione articolo

Riassunto

Drawing on startling new evidence from the mapping of the genome, an explosive new account of the genetic basis of race and its role in the human story
 

Fewer ideas have been more toxic or harmful than the idea of the biological reality of race, and with it the idea that humans of different races are biologically different from one another. For this understandable reason, the idea has been banished from polite academic conversation. Arguing that race is more than just a social construct can get a scholar run out of town, or at least off campus, on a rail. Human evolution, the consensus view insists, ended in prehistory.

Inconveniently, as Nicholas Wade argues in A Troublesome Inheritance, the consensus view cannot be right. And in fact, we know that populations have changed in the past few thousand years—to be lactose tolerant, for example, and to survive at high altitudes. Race is not a bright-line distinction; by definition it means that the more human populations are kept apart, the more they evolve their own distinct traits under the selective pressure known as Darwinian evolution. For many thousands of years, most human populations stayed where they were and grew distinct, not just in outward appearance but in deeper senses as well.

Wade, the longtime journalist covering genetic advances for The New York Times, draws widely on the work of scientists who have made crucial breakthroughs in establishing the reality of recent human evolution. The most provocative claims in this book involve the genetic basis of human social habits. What we might call middle-class social traits—thrift, docility, nonviolence—have been slowly but surely inculcated genetically within agrarian societies, Wade argues. These “values” obviously had a strong cultural component, but Wade points to evidence that agrarian societies evolved away from hunter-gatherer societies in some crucial respects. Also controversial are his findings regarding the genetic basis of traits we associate with intelligence, such as literacy and numeracy, in certain ethnic populations, including the Chinese and Ashkenazi Jews.

Wade believes deeply in the fundamental equality of all human peoples. He also believes that science is best served by pursuing the truth without fear, and if his mission to arrive at a coherent summa of what the new genetic science does and does not tell us about race and human history leads straight into a minefield, then so be it. This will not be the last word on the subject, but it will begin a powerful and overdue conversation.

Informazioni sull'autore

Nicholas Wade received a BA in natural sciences from King’s College, Cambridge. He was the deputy editor of Nature magazine in London and then became that journal’s Washington correspondent. He joined Science magazine in Washington as a reporter and later moved to The New York Times, where he has been an editorial writer, concentrating on issues of defense, space, science, medicine, technology, genetics, molecular biology, the environment, and public policy, a science reporter, and a science editor.