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Pavitra comments on Blues, Greens and abortion - Less Wrong Discussion

6 Post author: Snowyowl 05 March 2011 07:15PM

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Comment author: Pavitra 07 March 2011 02:46:19AM -2 points [-]

I wasn't aware that things like that could vary in heritability. Rape is not specific to humans, so it can't be purely cultural; where else would it come from, if not genes?

Comment author: wedrifid 07 March 2011 03:54:38AM 4 points [-]

I wasn't aware that things like that could vary in heritability.

Not just can. Almost everything with any degree of complexity varies in heritability, especially things that are behavioural.

Comment author: RichardKennaway 11 March 2011 08:30:33AM *  1 point [-]

Rape is not specific to humans, so it can't be purely cultural; where else would it come from, if not genes?

It only "comes from genes" in the same sense that eating, having a liver, and breathing oxygen "come from genes".

Eating, having a liver, and breathing oxygen are inherited, but have zero heritability (since they do not vary). They cannot be selected for or against.

Even something that does vary from one person to another (some people commit rape and some do not) and "comes from genes" in this trivial sense may have zero heritability. If it is not heritable, your suggested policy of killing the offspring of rape will have no eugenic effect, and nor will any other policy of trying to breed the behaviour out of the population.

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