Social, Biological, and Genetic Determinism Theory

Compare and Contrast Social Determinism and Genetic Determinism
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Compare and Contrast Social determinism and Genetic determinism
Overview of B.F Skinner’s Social Deterministic Theory
The debate of nature and nurture factors as the determinants of behavior has been raging on. Scholars have weighed with their views on what factors are more important. BF skinner dominates this debate with his theory on behaviorism as ‘the science of human behavior.’ Skinner believed that all behavior is influenced by external factors over which the individual has no control. He believed in social determinism. Social determinism is the idea that an individual’s actions are a product of environmental interactions as opposed to biological factors. For example, a social determinist would view sexual orientation as a social factor as opposed to a biological construct. He further noted that individuals have no free will, and they are always at the mercy of the environment.
Overview of Richard Dawkin’s Biological Determinism Theory
On the other hand, other scholars have taken a different approach to explaining human behavior. Richard Dawkins ha fronted the idea of genetic determinism. He pegged his argument that humans and other organisms are programmed by the genes inherent in them to behave the way they do. Dawkins came up with the idea of selfish genes which he argues that physical traits determine how an individual behaves. He goes further to note that genes use organisms as tools to propagate themselves for more generations to come. Dawkins coined the phrase that 'man is a survival mechanism for genes, which means that genes use organisms such as humans to propagate themselves through generations. Therefore, everything an organism does is to ensure the survival of that gene as the 'blueprint' of the next generation. Dawkins's theory is partly pegged on the Darwinian theory of survival for the fittest, where only the most adapted organisms to the environment survive, and others die. He further notes that the information contained in genes is immortal and will remain the same for many generations to come. The very way it has remained unchanged in the previous generations. Thus, the behavior of an organism is hardcoded into the genes such that its actions culminate in attempts to ensure the survival of the genes pertinent to them.
Positives of Social Determinism Theory
One of the key positive aspects of Skinner’s work is that children are born blank but for their abilities to perform reflexes. He also added that a child's brain is like a sponge that can absorb large quantities of information over the lifetime of the individual. The premise of this theory is that human behavior can be molded. Therefore, if the human behavior is moldable through reinforcements and punishment, parents and guardians can mold their children to make better choices in life. The character of the individual can be socially influenced to reflect the values of society.
Secondly, social determinism theory makes a case for a broad view of the individual's character. It shows that if an individual has to become a better human, environmen...