“Genetics, Free Will, & Moral Agency” with Kathryn Paige Harden

How much are you a product of your genes, and how much are you a product of your experiences? Or are you a free agent, acting in spite of your biology and environment? The idea that different people have different predispositions towards succeeding in society and school is not a controversial one. The fact that science is increasingly finding patterns between certain genes and behaviours like addiction, appetite, sex and violence, has on the other hand, ruffled some feathers. What might modern autocrats and would-be despots use this knowledge for? Conversely, what if progressives didn’t cede the genetic research field? Might we have a fairer society? That’s the argument of Professor Kathryn Paige Harden, a psychologist and behavioral geneticist who runs the Developmental Behavior Genetics lab at the University of Texas Austin. Her 2021 book, ‘The Genetic Lottery: Why DNA Matters for Social Equality’, landed her in the midst of a cancel culture firestorm. Her forthcoming book in reply to her critics is ‘Original Sin: On the Genetics of Vice, the Problem of Blame, and the Future of Forgiveness.’ She joins Josh to discuss nature, nurture, free will, genetic bases for behavior, and what taking acid taught her about being human.