The Dependent Gene

The Dependent Gene: The Fallacy of "Nature vs. Nurture"
AuthorDavid S. Moore
LanguageEnglish
Subject
GenreNonfiction
Publisher
Publication date
2002
Pages320
ISBN978-0-7167-4024-7

The Dependent Gene: The Fallacy of "Nature vs. Nurture" is a book by developmental psychologist David S. Moore, originally published in 2002 by Times Books and Henry Holt & Company. The book is highly critical of genetic determinism and the nature-nurture debate, emphasizing that gene action is highly dependent on social and biological factors in the organism's environment. In doing so, it draws on developmental systems theory to present an interactionist approach to the science of genetics.[1] Among the examples Moore cites in the book is that of phenylketonuria (PKU), which is caused by a mutation in a single gene, but can easily be treated through dietary intervention. He argues that PKU, like all traits, is both genetic and environmental in origin.[2] He also critiques the fundamental concept of a discrete "gene", arguing that the function-based boundaries that are claimed to separate genes from one another have changed over time.[3]