Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Philosophy
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 03-02-2014, 02:34 AM
 
4,749 posts, read 4,323,760 times
Reputation: 4970

Advertisements

I had the opportunity to speak to 2 ladies who moved to the USA from Africa. Our conversation first started with how American 40 year-old women look so good, whereas back home (Nigeria) they are getting ready to die. Now, I learned that Nigerians even have their own tribes. Then one lady was telling me that some tribes are extremely violent, even towards their own family members (both the men and women). She went into detail about some of the things she's seen (bodies cut in half, beheading, etc.).

This lead me to think, since 12% of the population causes 28% of crime, is aggression genetic?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 03-02-2014, 08:24 AM
 
Location: Somewhere
8,069 posts, read 6,972,454 times
Reputation: 5654
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pinkmani View Post
I had the opportunity to speak to 2 ladies who moved to the USA from Africa. Our conversation first started with how American 40 year-old women look so good, whereas back home (Nigeria) they are getting ready to die. Now, I learned that Nigerians even have their own tribes. Then one lady was telling me that some tribes are extremely violent, even towards their own family members (both the men and women). She went into detail about some of the things she's seen (bodies cut in half, beheading, etc.).

This lead me to think, since 12% of the population causes 28% of crime, is aggression genetic?
My wild guess is no. The majority of that 12% will come from the poorest section of our society. Even if some think ethnicity is a factor, in areas where most people are white, it is also the poor whites who commit most of the crime. I personally don't think it's a factor in large groups of populations like whole countries. Environment seems to play a bigger roll. Structural and cultural violence seem to determine the high crime rates in societies.

Look at Germans, do they have high crime rates? were they extremely violent before the WWII? no, but something as barbaric as the Holocaust took place there. Religion, ideology can be very powerful. Also denying responsibility because it is the easy way out(peer pressure):

For example, Adolph Eichmann was asked, "Was it difficult for you to send these tens of thousands of people their death?" Eichmann replied, "To tell you the truth, it was easy. Our language made it easy." Asked to explain, Eichmann said, "My fellow officers and I coined our own name for our language. We called it amtssprache -- 'office talk.'" In office talk "you deny responsibility for your actions. So if anybody says, 'Why did you do it?' you say, 'I had to.' 'Why did you have to?' 'Superiors' orders. Company policy. It's the law.'"
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-02-2014, 08:56 AM
 
Location: Howard County, MD
2,222 posts, read 3,601,876 times
Reputation: 3417
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pinkmani View Post
I had the opportunity to speak to 2 ladies who moved to the USA from Africa. Our conversation first started with how American 40 year-old women look so good, whereas back home (Nigeria) they are getting ready to die. Now, I learned that Nigerians even have their own tribes. Then one lady was telling me that some tribes are extremely violent, even towards their own family members (both the men and women). She went into detail about some of the things she's seen (bodies cut in half, beheading, etc.).

This lead me to think, since 12% of the population causes 28% of crime, is aggression genetic?
I think a lot of the violence in society is caused more by the presence of people like you rather than certain ethnic groups being inherently violent.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-02-2014, 09:28 AM
 
4,749 posts, read 4,323,760 times
Reputation: 4970
Quote:
Originally Posted by Johnbiggs View Post
I think a lot of the violence in society is caused more by the presence of people like you rather than certain ethnic groups being inherently violent.
People like myself? How so?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-02-2014, 12:37 PM
 
19,036 posts, read 27,607,234 times
Reputation: 20278
Someone will have to PROVE to me that process of protein replication, which is result and main purpose of genes activity, is actually somehow influencing human's nature. I had this discussed before, and there is no proof to it. It's widely mulled and pitched by media, but intelligent people know the true worth to that.
All gene is doing is controlling replication of particular body physical building blocks, based on template. That's it. There is no proof whatsoever that it somehow influences inclinations, psychic traits.
With that being said, no. OP, no, it is not genetically transferred.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-02-2014, 12:44 PM
 
19,036 posts, read 27,607,234 times
Reputation: 20278
Now, a human comes to existence with a particular psychic, physical, mental, and noetic make up, as determined by its destiny. This is based on previous existences and general trends, this human accepted through them.
as a part of physical destiny, a FAMILY and COUNTRY, as much as RACE of the body human will occupy, is determined. THIS may lead to a false belief that inclinations, such as aggression, are inherited.
Indeed, they are simply further development of what was already placed in works, and matched with particular parents. For s superficial conclusion, it may appear, that such aggression is inherited. Yet, there are many non-aggressives that were born to aggressive parents or peoples, and vise verse.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-02-2014, 02:55 PM
 
2,004 posts, read 3,417,337 times
Reputation: 3774
I had two sons two years apart. The first showed signs of being overly aggressive very soon, whereas the second is and always has been very quiet and mild mannered. They are 33 and 35 years old now and haven't changed a lot. I am not very aggressive and neither was my father and neither was my grandfather. My wife and her family were not aggressive either. Something in the individual makeup of my first son made him aggressive, IMO. Not genetics.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-02-2014, 10:12 PM
 
Location: Mill Valley, California
275 posts, read 434,153 times
Reputation: 243
In one way or another, all of an individual's behaviors must be influenced by our individual genetic makeup, so in that way of course aggressive tendencies have to possess a genetic component. However, I assume, based on your story, you are more interested in knowing if violent tendencies can also be heritable? There are numerous sociological studies that suggest aggression and violence both to be heritable to some degree, but without more studies that actually identify specific genes linked directly to these specific behaviors, its hard to really exclude the notion that environmental factors might actually mitigate or even dominate the human cultivation of, or aversion to, any complex emotional state of mind.

That said, I do know of one study from 1993 based upon a single Dutch family, in which researchers discovered the presence of a particular single gene mutation (that was associated with the production of some neurotransmitter known to influence violent moods) within the family, and there was a very high correlation with excessive violent behavior for individuals who possessed it. Additionally, the gene mutation also turned out to pass along this Dutch family lineage following a classic Mendellian pattern of inheritance (which meant the parents did in fact pass the mutation along to their children, much like they passed on genes that dictated eye or hair color).

I realize that violence and aggression are not entirely synonymous -- but due to their obvious close association, it seems reasonable to think that at least some aggressive tendencies likely have at least one similar (yet to be discovered) heritable gene similar to this one we know is behind certain violent tendencies. Such evidence, however, still does not discount the possibility for environmental factors that might partially or totally mitigate one's genetic propensity toward violence or aggression.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-03-2014, 02:32 AM
 
2,004 posts, read 3,417,337 times
Reputation: 3774
I can, in my son's case, rule out enviromental factors, also. My two boys were about as different as two boys could be. Out of all the relatives on both side of our families, he was the only one that displayed aggressive tendencies. For the first three years of his life he had no contact with other children except his younger brother, the mild mannered one. We lived in a tipi, and later a cabin, in the mountains of northern Idaho 25 miles from the nearest town. If it was caused by a gene, it must have come from way back. I mean waaay back. Or, it could have mutated within himself, I guess, and that goes back to my previous statement. "Something in the individual makeup of my first son made him aggressive, IMO."
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-03-2014, 04:31 AM
 
2,004 posts, read 3,417,337 times
Reputation: 3774
It's quite evident to me that you are very educated in this subject, as where I am not. I, therefore, have to draw my conclusions from my own experiences. None of which are speculative.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Philosophy

All times are GMT -6. The time now is 04:37 AM.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top