Synopses & Reviews
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 andldquo;versusandrdquo; 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.
Review
andldquo;I know of no other publication that offers so concise and cogent an account of what andlsquo;nature versus nurtureandrsquo; 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.andrdquo;andmdash;Sarah Franklin, author of Dolly Mixtures: The Remaking of Genealogy
Review
andldquo;Evelyn Fox Kellerandrsquo;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 andlsquo;nature and nurtureandrsquo; should be required to demonstrate their mastery of her arguments before their thoughts are let loose on society.andrdquo;andmdash;Philip Kitcher, author of Living with Darwin
Review
andldquo;Kellerandrsquo;s little essay is an excellent teaching resourceandmdash;and an excellent resource for reminding ourselves about the pitfalls of the current way of thinking. Anyone with an interest in the nature-nurture problemandmdash;which is to say, almost everyoneandmdash;should read this book.andrdquo;
Review
andldquo;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.andrdquo;
Review
andldquo;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.andrdquo;
Review
andldquo;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 Kellerandrsquo;s book can be highly recommended for classroom teachers or teacher educators. Although the book itself would be difficult for many students, Fox Kellerandrsquo;s message is an extremely important one, one that educators really should understand before discussing the nature/nurture debate with their classes.andrdquo;
Review
andldquo;This short, clearly written and right-minded book provides a compelling critique of a widely held conception of the so-called nature/nurture question.andrdquo;
Review
andldquo;[Keller] isn't out to mine history; she wants to examine how and why the simple act of placing the word andlsquo;versusandrsquo; 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 andlsquo;the new science of geneticsandrsquo; will offer a way out of the debate, and possibly eliminate the debate altogether. andldquo;
Review
andldquo;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.andrdquo;
Review
andldquo;Kellerand#39;s book is valuable because it provides a crisp and articulateand#160;statement of the many confusions that pervade our talk of genetics,
particularly human genetics. It could be used in both undergraduate andand#160;graduate classes that touch on these issues. Moreover, because Kellerand#39;sand#160;focus is on the problems of the language of genetics itself rather than onand#160;their instantiation in a particular controversy it brings clearly into focusand#160;the underlying problem that cuts across a number of controversies. Theand#160;book should be taken as a summary of the issues and an agenda for howand#160;we proceed from here.andrdquo;
Review
andldquo;Perhaps a hundred years from now people will look back on the debateand#160;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 Kellerandrsquo;s excellent little book will deserve credit for its role in making this mind-change.andrdquo;
Review
andquot;Not long ago, I read a beautiful book by Evelyn Fox Keller called
The Mirage of a Space Between Nature and Nurture. Sheandrsquo;s a philosopher of science at MIT. Sheandrsquo;s one of the most brilliant philosophers of science there is. She writes short but brilliant books, and sheandrsquo;s great.andrdquo;
and#160;
Review
"Is there anything new to say about how we should understand the nature-nurture problem? The answer is yes, and it is not because there are conceptual matters still unresolved. It is because no one has offered a way to think about the problem that is simple and grabs the imagination. Absent a clarifying story, teachers continue to struggle to explain it to students. And some of us continue to write books and papers in which we say or imply things we do not literally mean about nature and nurture, genes and environment, heritability and plasticity -- things we later regret having phrased the way we did. So wouldn't it be nice if there were a small book that explained, clearly and simply, how to understand the problem, pitfalls and all; if there were a concise manual -- something like Strunk and White's famous style guide -- that we could just hand to our students; if there were a little manifesto that we could curl up with and reread every couple of years to restore to our thinking the clarity we know this difficult subject deserves? The Mirage of a Space Between Nature and Nurture, by Evelyn Fox Keller, may be just the book we've been waiting for." Daniel W. McShea, American Scientist (Read the entire American Scientist review)
Synopsis
Prominent historian of science considers how the opposition between nature (understood to be genetic or innate) and nurture (understood as acquired or environmental) came to be such an entrenched part of scientific and social ways of thinking.
Synopsis
The esteemed historian and philosopher of science Evelyn Fox Keller addresses the nature-nurture debate, arguing that it is riddled by conceptual incoherence.
About the Author
“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“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