The Mirage of a Space between Nature and Nurture

by Evelyn Fox Keller

Overview

In this powerful critique, the esteemed historian and philosopher of science Evelyn Fox Keller addresses the nature-nurture debates, including the persistent disputes regarding the roles played by genes and the environment in determining individual traits and behavior. Keller is interested in both how an oppositional "versus" came to be inserted between nature and nurture, and how the distinction on which that opposition depends, the idea that nature and nurture are separable, came to be taken for granted. How, she asks, did the illusion of a space between nature and nurture become entrenched in our thinking, and why is it so tenacious? Keller reveals that the assumption that the influences of nature and nurture can be separated is neither timeless nor universal, but rather a notion that emerged in Anglo-American culture in the late nineteenth century. She shows that the seemingly clear-cut nature-nurture debate is riddled with incoherence. It encompasses many disparate questions knitted together into an indissoluble tangle, and it is marked by a chronic ambiguity in language. There is little consensus about the meanings of terms such as nature, nurture, gene, and environment. Keller suggests that contemporary genetics can provide a more appropriate, precise, and useful vocabulary, one that might help put an end to the confusion surrounding the nature-nurture controversy.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780822347316
Publisher:	Duke University Press
Publication date:	06/11/2010
Pages:	118
Sales rank:	946,525
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.30(h) x 0.40(d)

About the Author

Evelyn Fox Keller (1936-2023) was Emerita Professor of History and Philosophy of Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She was the author of numerous books, including Making Sense of Life: Explaining Biological Development with Models, Metaphors, and Machines; The Century of the Gene; Reflections on Gender and Science; and A Feeling for the Organism: The Life and Work of Barbara McClintock. She has been awarded many academic and professional honors, including a Blaise Pascal Research Chair by the Préfecture de la Région D'Ile-de-France for 2005-07, membership in the American Philosophical Society and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a MacArthur Fellowship.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction

1. Nature and Nurture as Alternatives

2. Changing the Question to One that Does Make Sense—From Trait to Trait Difference

3. From Individuals to Populations

4. What's to Be Done?

Notes

Bibliography

Index

Editorial Reviews

According to Keller (A Feeling for the Organism), a noted feminist philosopher and historian, the nature/nurture debate can be traced back to ancient Greek discussions of physis (timeless nature, or "what is") and nomos (law, custom, culture). But the author isn't out to mine history; she wants to examine how and why the simple act of placing the word "versus" between concepts of nature and nurture perpetuates the debate about the science of what shapes us. Her concern "is with the tendency to think of nature and nurture as separable and hence as comparable, as forces to which relative strength can be assigned..." She contends that much of the problem stems from "the instability of language"; even the meaning of words like "gene," "heritable," and "heritability" are problematic. Keller proves her points with a highly scientific and scholarly approach that may be too dense for the layperson. Yet her arguments, as academic as they are, relate to us all, and get at the essence of our differences. In the end, Keller is hopeful that "the new science of genetics" will offer a way out of the debate, and possibly eliminate the debate altogether.
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Publishers Weekly

"Not long ago, I read a beautiful book by Evelyn Fox Keller called The Mirage of a Space Between Nature and Nurture. She's a philosopher of science at MIT. She's one of the most brilliant philosophers of science there is. She writes short but brilliant books, and she's great."

--Siri Hustvedt, novelist "Miami Herald"

"[Keller] isn't out to mine history; she wants to examine how and why the simple act of placing the word 'versus' between concepts of nature and nurture perpetuates the debate about the science of what shapes us. . . . [H]er arguments, as academic as they are, relate to us all, and get at the essence of our differences. In the end, Keller is hopeful that 'the new science of genetics' will offer a way out of the debate, and possibly eliminate the debate altogether. "-- "Publishers Weekly"

"For its careful analysis of the causes of the confusion that continues to keep the nature/nurture debate alive long after it has become clear that the questions motivating the debate have been ill-formed, Fox Keller's book can be highly recommended for classroom teachers or teacher educators. Although the book itself would be difficult for many students, Fox Keller's message is an extremely important one, one that educators really should understand before discussing the nature/nurture debate with their classes."--David S. Moore " Science and Education"

"In the finest fashion of philosophical essays, this deeply thought, passionate, generous, and transdisciplinary monograph offers a clear-headed and constructive guide to the nature-nurture wars."--Sarah S. Richardson " Signs"

"Keller is one of the most sophisticated and intelligent analysts of the social and psychological forces that operate in intellectual life and, in particular, of the relation of gender in our society both to the creation and acceptance of scientific ideas."--Richard C. Lewontin " New York Review of Books"

"Keller's book is valuable because it provides a crisp and articulate statement of the many confusions that pervade our talk of genetics,
particularly human genetics. It could be used in both undergraduate and graduate classes that touch on these issues. Moreover, because Keller's focus is on the problems of the language of genetics itself rather than on their instantiation in a particular controversy it brings clearly into focus the underlying problem that cuts across a number of controversies. The book should be taken as a summary of the issues and an agenda for how we proceed from here."--John P. Jackson Jr. "Journal of the History of Biology"

"Keller's little essay is an excellent teaching resource--and an excellent resource for reminding ourselves about the pitfalls of the current way of thinking. Anyone with an interest in the nature-nurture problem--which is to say, almost everyone--should read this book."--Daniel W. McShea "American Scientist"

"Perhaps a hundred years from now people will look back on the debate as being as distant and unimportant as we today consider debates about the importance of empire or the plausibility of spiritualism. If so, Evelyn Fox Keller's excellent little book will deserve credit for its role in making this mind-change."--Michael Ruse "British Journal for the History of Science"

"The ideas developed in this book will lead us to see the universality in humanity, a shift from the individual to the collective, a dissolution of artificial boundaries, and hope for the future of science and humanity."--Bindu Anubha Bambah "Resonance" (3/1/2017 12:00:00 AM)

"Evelyn Fox Keller's diagnosis of prevalent confusions in our thinking about nature and nurture is so lucid, informed, and sensitive that it is tempting to insist that scientists, journalists, philosophers, and policy-makers who intend to talk about 'nature and nurture' should be required to demonstrate their mastery of her arguments before their thoughts are let loose on society."--Philip Kitcher, author of Living with Darwin

"I know of no other publication that offers so concise and cogent an account of what 'nature versus nurture' refers to. Evelyn Fox Keller is at her best dissecting the assumptions and histories that have come to shape a particular version of biology, genes, and life."--Sarah Franklin, author of Dolly Mixtures: The Remaking of Genealogy

From the Publisher

Keller is one of the most sophisticated and intelligent analysts of the social and psychological forces that operate in intellectual life and, in particular, of the relation of gender in our society both to the creation and acceptance of scientific ideas.

New York Review of Books - Richard C. Lewontin

"Not long ago, I read a beautiful book by Evelyn Fox Keller called The Mirage of a Space Between Nature and Nurture. She’s a philosopher of science at MIT. She’s one of the most brilliant philosophers of science there is. She writes short but brilliant books, and she’s great.”

 

Miami Herald - Siri Hustvedt

Perhaps a hundred years from now people will look back on the debate as being as distant and unimportant as we today consider debates about the importance of empire or the plausibility of spiritualism. If so, Evelyn Fox Keller’s excellent little book will deserve credit for its role in making this mind-change.

British Journal for the History of Science - Michael Ruse

For its careful analysis of the causes of the confusion that continues to keep the nature/nurture debate alive long after it has become clear that the questions motivating the debate have been ill-formed, Fox Keller’s book can be highly recommended for classroom teachers or teacher educators. Although the book itself would be difficult for many students, Fox Keller’s message is an extremely important one, one that educators really should understand before discussing the nature/nurture debate with their classes.

Science and Education - David S. Moore

Keller's book is valuable because it provides a crisp and articulate statement of the many confusions that pervade our talk of genetics,
particularly human genetics. It could be used in both undergraduate and graduate classes that touch on these issues. Moreover, because Keller's focus is on the problems of the language of genetics itself rather than on their instantiation in a particular controversy it brings clearly into focus the underlying problem that cuts across a number of controversies. The book should be taken as a summary of the issues and an agenda for how we proceed from here.

Journal of the History of Biology - John P. Jackson Jr.

Keller’s little essay is an excellent teaching resource—and an excellent resource for reminding ourselves about the pitfalls of the current way of thinking. Anyone with an interest in the nature-nurture problem—which is to say, almost everyone—should read this book.

Daniel W. McShean Scientist

In the finest fashion of philosophical essays, this deeply thought, passionate, generous, and transdisciplinary monograph offers a clear-headed and constructive guide to the nature-nurture wars.

Signs - Sarah S. Richardson

"The ideas developed in this book will lead us to see the universality in humanity, a shift from the individual to the collective, a dissolution of artificial boundaries, and hope for the future of science and humanity."

Resonance - Bindu Anubha Bambah

Keller’s little essay is an excellent teaching resource—and an excellent resource for reminding ourselves about the pitfalls of the current way of thinking. Anyone with an interest in the nature-nurture problem—which is to say, almost everyone—should read this book.

American Scientist - Daniel W. McShea

Within this slim, elegant volume, noted science philosopher and author Keller restates and examines the historical discussions and assumptions regarding the influence of nature versus nurture on the phenotypic expression of traits. . . . The impactful thoughts expressed in this brief book provoke deep thinking and demand grounding in the biological and cultural background in the nature versus nurture theme.

R. A. Hoots

This short, clearly written and right-minded book provides a compelling critique of a widely held conception of the so-called nature/nurture question.

John Dupre