In "Chromosome 7: Instinct," Ridley begins the seventh chapter of Genome by saying that there is a gene on chromosome 7 that "pays an important part in equipping human beings with an instinct...that lies at the heart of all human culture" (91). He goes on to explain that instinct is a word used to describe animals whereas humans don't rely on instinct and that "everything they do is the product of free will, giant brains and brainwashing parents" (91). Ridley establishes that although society thinks that "to believe in innate human behaviour, is to fall into the trap of determinism, and to condemn individual people to a heartless fate written in their genes before they were born" (91-92), practically everything is determined by genes, including language. Ridley argues that there is "a set of innate mental rules" (95) in a child that allows the sentences of a four-year-old to be organized in a logical way. Also, Ridley goes on to conclude that the instinct for language is an evolutionary adaptation for "clear and sophisticated communication between individuals" (104).
No comments:
Post a Comment