This piece shall begin by briefly outlining biological determinism and sociology as a whole. it shall then continue by analyzing and assessing sociology strong argument against biological determinism by means of picking apart sections of nature and nurture debate/ furthermore the piece shall elaborate on biological determinism and its argument against sociology. finally, this essay will reflect upon the statement 'sociology has mounted a powerful attack on biological determinism' in relation to the topics discussed previously.
Biological determinism is a term used to encompass the theory that our genetic makeup will determine the way in which we cultivate information and how we use this as we grow. The thesis is that nature of a person establishes
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in addition to the previous example of biological factors can be changed due to sociological factors s this can affect not only how we view the world and how we interpret it and enjoy the society but how this is molded into us at a very early age by our parents and their social class background. 'The idea of what constitutes culture can be affected by class: for example, consumption of high culture such as opera or theatre need a disposal income not enjoyed by everyone. Class will influence the way in which parents socialize their children. Even such things as whether one is breastfed or smacked as a child are often a reflection of the social class one is born int. '(brown, K.et al 2009) Although sociology has mounted a powerful attack its opposition has a powerful defense that of science, Biological factors such as genders, age and disability play roles' While many scientists have hard evidence that human life is solely affected by biology, there is a very compelling counter argument all around us: nature vs Nurture. Giddens acknowledges gender socialization as an approach to gender studies. Gender socialization is "Learning of gender roles within help f social agencies such as the family, state and mass …show more content…
'ethnicity may affect the likelihood of being in a one parent family: recent figures from the department for children, schools and families show that 57 percent of Afro- Carribean children live in lone-parent families, while only 12 percent of Asian children's do so, compared to 25 percent of white children.'(Browne, K.et al 2009) The above statement indicates that your ethnicity can determine your upbringing and ultimately the way in which your life will play out. Although this is not set in stone as there are many families from a variety of cultures which are in very stable family unit. People who support biological determinism often refer to environmental /sociological factors as minute when compared to that of biological and genetic factors. 'Biological determinism, also called biologism or biodeterniminsm , the idea that most human characteristics, physical and mental. Are determines at conception by hereditary factors passed from parents to offspring. Although all human traits ultimately are based in material nature (e.g., memorizing a poem involves changing molecular configurations at synapses, where nerve cells interact), the term bological detreminsm has come to imply a rigid causation largely unaffected by environmental factors.'(Goldhaber, D.2012) Supporters of biological determinism focus generally on the science behinds it and
The first main factor that is said to influence gender is biology. “Nature doesn’t give a flea’s hind leg for our social theories, fads, fashions, political ideologies and other nutty ideas with which people preoccupy themselves (*). This quote explains the argument on the side of biology. People who support this ideology believe that the major biological differences between males and females must most greatly influence our gender development because of their numerous studies.
In determining the free will of a human’s nature many philosophers want to solve the dilemma of determinism. The dilemma of determinism is as follows (Rowe, p.587):
There are many different facets to the nature versus nurture argument that has been going on for decades. One of these, the influence of nature and nurture on gender roles and behaviors, is argued well by both Deborah Blum and Aaron Devor, both of whom believe that society plays a large role in determining gender. I, however, have a tendency to agree with Blum that biology and society both share responsibility for these behaviors. The real question is not whether gender expression is a result of nature or nurture, but how much of a role each of these plays.
Over the course of the paper, I will first explain what exactly are social structural explanations and cultural explanations, and show some of the most popular examples of both. In addition, I discuss what I think is the core of the disagreement between the two, and what I think matters in comprehending life chances.
The theories of Samuel Bowles and Herbert Gintis, Pierre Bourdieu, Basil Bernstein and Shirley Brice Heath represent the deterministic end of the social reproduction perspective. These theories mainly involve school, the ideas of cultural capital, habitus, and linguistic cultural capital and can help explain more in depth how the reproduction of classes continue through generations, and how this reproduction is accepted.
Biological focuses on the body and brain being the dominant influences of behavior and thinking.
In “The Gender Blur: Where Does Biology End and Society Take Over?” Deborah Blum states that “gender roles of our culture reflect an underlying biology” (Blum 679). Maasik and Solomon argue that gender codes and behavior “are not the result of some sort of natural or biological destiny, but are instead politically motivated cultural constructions,” (620) raising the question whether gender behavior begins in culture or genetics. Although one may argue that gender roles begin in either nature or nurture, many believe that both culture and biology have an influence on the behavior.
The most vivid example of the biological determinism is the theory of Cesare Lombroso. Lombroso based his theory on the assumption that criminals have certain physiognomic features or abnormalities. Lombroso wanted to be able to detect future criminals in order to isolate them from the society. This gave criminology a strong push to create new methods of dealing with criminals and prevent crimes. Lombroso implied that prisoners had common facial characteristics. If to exaggerate criminals in Lombroso’s theory can be identified through the shape of their skulls, asymmetry of the face and head, large cheekbones, ears and lips, long arms and a twisted nose. Lombroso’s theory is the oldest one and it can without a doubt be called the main background data for the whole process of the development of criminology. Lombroso stated that men are more inclined to commit crimes due to the conservatism and the narrow-mindedness of their interests. According to Lombroso women have less social contacts and this is what predetermines their conservatism. Thi...
This essay will also approach the weaknesses of these theories. It will look at the nature/nurture debate and how most of the theories fail to take into account social and environmental factors that contribute to an individuals behaviour. It will also look at the idea of 'determinism' (Lombroso, 1876), the idea that people have absolutely no control over there actions so shouldn't be punished, but rather, treated.
Sigmund Freud is a well known psychologist and philosopher. He is widely known for his strange psychological reasoning and comparisons of children and sex. But for the purpose of this essay, the focus will be more on his philosophical views of determinism in his book, Psychopathology of Everyday Life.
C. Wright Mills describes the sociological imagination as a way of recognizing the pervasiveness of social influences when understanding human behaviours and social patterns. It helps people understand personal problems by understanding them in a broader context (class lecture, September 22, 2015). The sociological imagination is the key to understanding how societies control and change their members, and how societies are changed by the actions of their members (Curtis & Tepperman, 2006). Some of these sociological concepts that have influence on a person’s life include: gender, class, race/ethnicity, education, inequality, technology, and many more. In this essay I am going to use the sociological imagination to analyze how my personal life has been influenced by these larger social forces particular to the time and place in which I have grown up. More specifically, I am going to look at social forces such as class, gender,
Determinism is the theory that everything is caused by antecedent conditions, and such things cannot be other than how they are. Though no theory concerning this issue has been entirely successful, many theories present alternatives as to how it can be approached. Two of the most basic metaphysical theories concerning freedom and determinism are soft determinism and hard determinism.
There are arguments that human nature is not due to biological determinism through the evidence that is shown in suicide squad. There are various occurrences of the character’s flashback being shown that social forces affected the choices they made. Consequently, the characters were branded as criminals because of the decisions the characters had to make. However, there was an instance of a traits being passed on that were not manipulated by environmental factors. This example was observed on the basis that there were no exterior influences, and was observed on a scientific standpoint. Although there is argument that supported inherent traits being passed on, there was also many pieces of evidence that strongly suggested that people’s behaviour is matured through cultural and social
Throughout our lives we have all been influenced by our environment and other outside forces. Our environment may change the way we think, act and behave in life. Since we are all products of our environment, it comes to no surprise that we, as humans, tend to behave in a society the same way others around us behave but at the same time we strive to find who we really are (Schaefer 73). Since birth, humans have always analyzed the world around them. With each day that passes, humans take in more and more information from the outside world. The information which humans obtain through their environment subconsciously influences the decisions people make throughout their daily life (Neubauer 16). On the other hand, our genetics also play a vital role in determining what type of person we are and what will we become.
“One is not born a woman, but instead one becomes a woman,” claims sociologist Simone de Beauvoir (as cited in Zaretsky). Similarly, sociologist Judith Butler argues that “gender is less a biological fact than a social fiction” (Zaretsky). Another sociologist, Berk, makes a similar claim, arguing that the family is where you first learn how to do gender in compliance with societal norms; the creation and functioning of a family perpetuates society (Berk). These arguments, based on the works of Jacques Lacan and Michel Foucault, are rooted in the idea that “what we assume to be essential human characteristics are instead malleable traits fashioned by social habits,” or the idea that characteristics we assign to gender are socially-constructed, as opposed to biologically predetermined (Zaretsky).