It’s no wonder many people are wary of behavioral genetics. The field, which examines how the DNA we’re born with affects our behaviors, has been hijacked by eugenicists, white supremacists, and run-of-the-mill bigots as a way to justify inequality for minorities, women, poor people, and other disadvantaged groups for over a century.
But anyone interested in egalitarian goals should not shy away from the field, argues psychologist Dr. Kathryn Paige Harden. Instead, they should embrace it as a tool to inform policies that promote equality.
Genetic research has even been used to justify eugenics: the belief that genetics indicate a natural human hierarchy that determines one’s social value and standing. Eugenicists have advocated for sterilizing or otherwise attempting to eradicate individuals or entire cultural groups deemed genetically inferior or “unfit” due to their genes.
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In response to this historic misuse, many people and organizations with egalitarian values have chosen to ignore, degrade, or ban funding for research on genetic and biological differences.
Dr. Harden takes the opposite stance. Despite — or perhaps because of — this historic misuse, she argues that people interested in equality cannot ignore genetic differences. To do so would allow the misinterpretation and abuse of genetic research to go unchallenged.
