- Hardcover: 336 pages
- Publisher: Fourth Estate (7 April 2003)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1841157457
- ISBN-13: 978-1841157450
- Product Dimensions: 23.9 x 16.3 x 3.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
213,096 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #25 in Books > Science & Nature > Biological Sciences > Genetics > Human
- #41 in Books > Health, Family & Lifestyle > Psychology & Psychiatry > History & Philosophy > Philosophy
- #71 in Books > Health, Family & Lifestyle > Psychology & Psychiatry > Schools of Thought > Evolutionary Psychology
Nature via Nurture
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Product Description
Amazon.com
Nature Via Nurture follows on from Matt Ridley's bestselling Genome. He takes on a centuries-old question: is it nature or nurture that makes us who we are? Ridley asserts that the question itself is a "false dichotomy". Using copious examples of human and animal behaviour, he presents the notion that our environment affects the way our genes express themselves.
Ridley writes that the switches controlling our 30,000 or so genes not only form the structures of our brains but do so in such a way as to cue off the outside environment in a tidy feedback loop of body and behaviour. In fact, it seems clear that we have genetic "thermostats" that are turned up and down by environmental factors. He challenges both scientific and folk concepts, from assumptions of what's malleable in a person to sociobiological theories based solely on the "selfish gene".
Ridley's proof is in the pudding for such touchy subjects as monogamy, aggression, and parenting, which we now understand have some genetic controls. Nevertheless, "the more we understand both our genes and our instincts, the less inevitable they seem". A consummate populariser of science, Ridley once again provides a perfect mix of history, genetics, and sociology for readers hungry to understand the implications of the human genome sequence. --Therese Littleton, Amazon.com
Review
'Nature via Nurture sets the modern terms for an ancient debate, and at the same time delivers a superb tutorial on contemporary genetics; the feedback loop that embraces genes and environment is generally not well understood. And yet this plasticity, this elegant mutuality, seems crucial if our new understanding of human nature is to inform public policy. These times need a book like this.' Ian McEwan
'Lucidly explains the most recent discoveries on what makes us what we are, and how we should think about these discoveries as we ponder who we want to be…A treat, written with insight, wisdom, and style.' Steven Pinker, author of The Blank Slate
'Bracingly intelligent, lucid, balanced – witty, too. Nature via Nurture is a scrupulous and charming look at our modern understanding of genes and experience.' Oliver Sacks
'A real page-turner. What a superb writer he is, and he seems to get better and better.'
Richard Dawkins, author of The Selfish Gene
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
36 of 36 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Following on from Genome (which I've reviewed), I find Matt Ridley very easy to read.
Here he selects 12 'Hairy Scientists', some famous (eg Freud, Pavlov, Darwin), some not so famous, and weaves a wonderful story as he takes us through the highs and lows of their research & that of their contemporaries, bringing us right up to date with the Genome. With interesting anecdotes he brings each individual to life.
The 7 moral conclusions at the end were particularly useful, especially No. 2 'being a good parent still matters.'
Given I'm now in the process of reading a similar book with some very poor illustrations, it was only afterwards looking back, that I see that I was entertained & educated without the need for any sketches or diagrams, and yet didn't feel cheated, deprived or confused.
100 of 102 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Having bought this along with Nature via Nurture (a wonderful book) I was surprised to discover that it's the *same* book, it just has a different name.
Perhaps this is obvious from the available information, but since I managed to miss it, I thought it was worth warning others. I love Matt Ridley's books (hence the 5), but not enough to want two copies...
Perhaps this is obvious from the available information, but since I managed to miss it, I thought it was worth warning others. I love Matt Ridley's books (hence the 5), but not enough to want two copies...
34 of 36 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Many similes have been used to introduce us to our genome; our DNA. It's a plan. It's a recipe. It's a blueprint. It's a code. Ridley shows how these metaphors miss the point - they're all too fixed to compare with the dynamics of the fundamental molecule of life. He shows how our genome, indeed, the genome common to all life, uses the same elements to say many things. Instead of terms identifying fixed elements, he suggests the image of language. The genome has a limited lexicon of phrases with which to build bodies and personalities, yet manages an immense variation in the results. How like a chimpanzee are you?, he asks. Depending on how you make the comparison - very little or very much. If you count the entire number of "base pairs" making up chimpanzees and humans, the difference is minimal - perhaps 30 thousand out of 3 billion. If, instead, you visit the zoo [or, better, Gombe] the differences are striking.
In Ridley's view, the striking differences are due to "word order" contained in the genome. All the words are essentially the same, but different locations and different interactions produce different characteristics. Including behaviour. In the six or seven million years since the chimpanzee-human line diverged, lifestyles, diet, social structure and living environment have helped guide how the genome produces a body and how that body will likely act in a given situation. Environment and the genome, then, are in a constant interactive flux. They feed signals through the organism to determine whether the organism will survive and reproduce. Nature isn't in the driver's seat, and if we fail to learn or adapt to the vagaries of environment, we won't survive to have descendants. Nature, then, is achieved via nurture.
All this should seem self-evident in today's world, but Ridley shows we have yet to fully understand and accept our role in Nature. There are few writers as articulate and expressive in dealing with these issues as Ridley. His grasp of the science involved is firm, yet he maintains a conversational tone throughout the narrative. While you will encounter much that is new to you in this book, you may close it [the first time], confident that his explanations have neither overwhelmed you nor left you unsatisfied. Of course, as Ridley points out, there is much work remaining in understanding the genome's impact on life. With luck, this book may impel others to follow his lead and uncover more of life's mysteries. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Warning: this book is identical to his "Nature via Nurture"
Superb as all his books are, this is "Nature via Nurture" re-named! I'm in the process of returning mine as this wasn't clear. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Ian Smith
Mostly nature
I ordered this book on the day I finished reading Genome. Ridley is an excellent writer, and presents a good overview of the nature versus nurture debate. Read more
Published 16 months ago by Dave C
Genes are cogs in the machine
Through the ideas of 12 more or less well known researchers, Matt Ridley shows forcefully that genes influence human behavior, but also that human behavior influences genes. Read more
Published on 8 Dec 2009 by Luc REYNAERT
fantastic
This book is amazing. A fantastic read about the concept and argument surrounding nature and nurture, genetics vs environment. On a par with his other book.
Published on 2 May 2006 by wellard
One of the best books I've read
I have a strong interest in this field. For me Ridley puts flesh on the bones of human evolution (Why we evolved like we did), as well as defining what we are. Read more
Published on 19 Jan 2006 by David A Edwards
Excellent stuff
This book will get you thinking, guaranteed. The accesible writing style combined with the analogies, stories, and up to date views on the origins of so much of what makes us human... Read more
Published on 15 May 2005 by Richard Marsh
Cogs, GOD and individuality
Ridley opens this superb summation of the impact of genetics and environment with a literary allusion. How can J.D. Salinger and Charles Dickens ever be compared? Read more
Published on 4 Jan 2004 by Stephen A. Haines
Who are you trying to convince Matt?
As with most of Matt Ridley's writing, he presents some very interesting data but then makes a leap of faith. Read more
Published on 3 Dec 2003 by O. Dale
Brake on Nepotism
An excellent book, his best one yet in my opinion.
It was good to have many of my own thoughts clarified. Read more
It was good to have many of my own thoughts clarified. Read more
Published on 27 Aug 2003
Another compelling read
Firstly, if you have enjoyed Matt Ridely before, this is for you. As good as his best.
However, if you are new, this is a fascinating discourse by an excellent writer on the... Read more
Published on 21 April 2003 by Alec Cawley
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