Ridley's "A Budget of Paradoxical Morals"

I had a hard time getting past Ridley's perspective in order to get to the point of his essay.  Which I'm still not clear on.  Is it that it takes both nature and nurture to form a personality?  Hardly ground-breaking news.  Did he write it solely so he could deliver backwards phrases like "criminals breed criminals", because that's what I took out of the essay.

This being said, genes do apparently take on much more of a role in personality development than I previously realised.  The following two Discovery Channel podcasts speak to epigenetics (the generational genetic changes that take place due to environmental stimulus).  The podcasts offer examples of scientific experiments that show that cocaine use by mice affect the memory of their progeny for  three generations, that controlled enriched environments produce progeny that have advantages over young produced in deprived environments (again in mice), and that children born during or after a famine have different metabolisms than children born prior to the famine. 

Each of these examples show strengths and weaknesses that would affect how a child would be able to interact with their social and physical environments as they develop.  I didn't get a chance to bring this up in class, but the podcasts were fascinating, and well worth taking a few minutes to listen to.

Ghost in the Genetic Machine: Animals
Ghost in the Genetic Machine: Humans

Class discussion was based mainly around the concept that humanity is defined by language and the ability to conceive of past and future states, actions, thoughts.  Also, the ability to temper instinct in favour of will-power, imagination, and a legacy of art.