A SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT TO THE HASTINGS CENTER REPORT GeneticGenetic DifferencesDifferences andand HumanHuman IdentitiesIdentities On Why Talking about Behavioral Genetics Is Important and Difficult E RIK P ARENS . .T . H. .E . HASTINGS. CENTER Acknowledgments his report is one product of a large project un- We were joined at one of our working group dertaken by The Hastings Center and the Amer- meetings by members of the United Kingdom’s Tican Association for the Advancement of Sci- Nuffield Council, which has explored similar ques- ence and funded by the Ethical, Legal, and Social Im- tions: Tom Baldwin, Martin Bobrow, Tor Lezmore, plications division of the National Human Genome Yvonne Melia, Paul Pharoah, Martin Richards, and Research Institute. Mark Frankel and Audrey Chap- Sandy Thomas. man (from AAAS) and I worked from the very begin- ning to develop the project and submit the grant ap- Administering such a complicated grant isn’t al- plication to NHGRI. From The Hastings Center, Erika ways easy. My colleagues and I are deeply grateful Blacksher, Mark Hanson, and Ashby Sharpe also par- to Joy Boyer at the ELSI office for her always ticipated in these early discussions. We could not thoughtful, kind, and patient support of our work. have completed the grant application, much less the project, without the tireless, erudite, and wise advice Over the years of the project we benefited from of V. Elving Anderson, professor emeritus of genetics the logistical support of Kevin Alleman, Rachel Gray, at the University of Minnesota. All of us who partici- and Sharon Leu at AAAS and from the research as- pated in this project owe Elving a great debt of grati- sistance of Michael Khair, Alissa Lyon, Samantha tude. Stokes, Marguerite Strobel, and Denise Wong at The Hastings Center. We also benefited from the large ef- Once the grant was under way, Audrey, Mark, Elv- forts of Vicki Peyton, Jodi Fernandes, and Mary Ann ing and I were joined by Catherine Baker and Nancy Hasbrouck at the Center, whose work made our pro- Press to form a steering committee that shared the ject meetings both productive and pleasant. responsibility for making all of the decisions relevant to the project, from setting meeting agendas to iden- Thanks to Jaime Bishop and Eric Trump for their tifying background readings, holding a public meet- work in the office of the Hastings Center Report. ing in Washington, D.C., and creating a primer of be- Thanks also to the Report’s art director, Nora Porter, havioral genetics, a book of essays, and this report. for carefully reading and then creatively presenting Working with Nancy, Cathy, Audrey, Mark, and Elving this report. Gregory Kaebnick, editor of the Report, was a pleasure and an honor. edited this special supplement not only for style, but also for content. It is wonderful to work with such a The steering committee was part of a larger work- talented philosopher and wordsmith. ing group, whose members are listed on the facing page. On some topics, additional help was provided In addition to Greg, several other people read the by consultants: Greg Carey (University of Colorado), entire manuscript and made extensive comments: Celeste Condit (University of Georgia), Carl Elliott Elving Anderson, Troy Duster, Len Fleck, Irv Gottes- (University of Minnesota), Elliot Gershon (University man, Bruce Jennings, Nancy Press, and David of Chicago), John Holmfeld (Science Policy Re- Wasserman. search), Steven E. Hyman (Harvard University), Kay Redfield Jamison (Johns Hopkins University), Toby Finally, I want to thank Ken Schaffner, who not Jayaratne (University of Michigan), Robert F. Krueger only possesses extraordinary scientific knowledge (University of Minnesota), Karen Lebacqz (Pacific and philosophical understanding, but the generosity School of Religion), John Loehlin (University of and patience to share it. Texas), David Lubinski (Vanderbilt University), Jonathan Marks (University of North Carolina at Char- So this report is truly the result of a large group lotte), Matt McGue (University of Minnesota), Sue effort. Even such a distinguished list of colleagues, Levi-Pearl (Tourette Syndrome Association), Jo C. however, could not save me from all errors of fact Phelan (Columbia University), John Rice (Washington and interpretation. In the end, responsibility for the University), Janice Robinson (Grace Episcopal errors that remain is mine. Church), Margo Smith (Depression and Related Af- fective Disorders Association), Eric Turkheimer (Uni- versity of Virginia), and Irwin Waldman (Emory Uni- On the cover: Awakening Woman, by Paul Klee. ©ARS, NY versity). Photo: © Bildarchiv Preussischer Kulturbesitz/Art Resource S2 January-February 2004 / HASTINGS CENTER REPORT Project Working Group Members V. Elving Anderson Mark Frankel Kenneth F. Schaffner Professor Emeritus, Genetics and Director, Scientific Freedom, Responsibility University Professor of Medical Humanities Cell Biology and Law Program Professor of Philosophy University of Minnesota American Association for the Advancement George Washington University Institute of Human Genetics of Science Division of Epidemiology Robert Wachbroit Irving Gottesman Research Scholar Catherine Baker Bernstein Professor in Adult Psychiatry Institute for Philosophy and Public Policy Writer/Editor Senior Fellow in Psychology University of Maryland Plain Language Communications University of Minnesota Rick Weiss Jonathan Beckwith Bruce Jennings Science Reporter American Cancer Society Professor of Senior Research Scholar The Washington Post Microbiology and Molecular Genetics The Hastings Center Harvard Medical School Gregory E. Kaebnick Dan W. Brock Editor, Hastings Center Report Professor of Social Medicine Associate for Philosophical Studies Director of the Division of Medical Ethics The Hastings Center Harvard Medical School Patricia King Audrey R. Chapman Carmack Waterhouse Professor of Law, Director, Science and Human Rights Medicine, Ethics and Public Policy Senior Associate for Ethics, Dialogue on Georgetown University Law Center Science, Ethics, and Religion American Association for the Advancement Yvette Miller of Science Chief Medical Officer Arizona Region Blood Service Troy Duster American Red Cross Professor of Sociology New York University Thomas Murray President Harold Edgar The Hastings Center Julius Silver Professor of Law, Science and Technology Erik Parens Columbia University School of Law Senior Research Scholar The Hastings Center Lee Ehrman Distinguished Professor of Biology Karen Porter State University of New York Executive Director Center Health Law and Policy Marcus Feldman Brooklyn Law School Professor of Biology Sciences Department of Biological Sciences Nancy Press Stanford University Professor School of Nursing and Medicine Leonard Fleck Oregon Health & Science University Professor, Philosophy and Medical Ethics Michigan State University SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT / Genetic Differences and Human Identities: On Why Talking about Behavioral Genetics Is Important and Difficult S3 Genetic Differences and HumanB Identities On Why Talking about Behavioral Genetics Is Important and Difficult BY E RIK P ARENS G New York Times headline announces, “First ences at the level of the gene are related to differences Gene for Social Behavior Identified in in traits, it also raises questions about human equality. Whiskery Mice.”1 “Attention-Deficit Gene Is Would it affect our understanding of moral equality if A 2 Located,” asserts a headline in the Wall Street Journal. we learned that genetic differences help to explain why A Case Western Reserve University press release de- we behave and appear differently, if we learned, for ex- clares, “Researchers Discover Anxiety and Aggression ample, that some individuals are genetically predis- Gene in Mice.”3 Myriad Genetics Inc. proclaims that posed to antisociality or hypergenerosity, alcoholism the company “has discovered a novel gene that causes or teetotaling, low intelligence or high? human obesity.”4 Questions about human freedom and equality are Some of this “gene-for” language is run-of-the-mill ultimately questions about our self-conceptions or hype. The language is intended to attract attention, “identities.” Thus we need to understand not only the and ultimately dollars.5 Some of it, however, is short- facts that behavioral geneticists present to us, but also hand to communicate new findings that researchers what those facts mean for our self-conceptions. believe may help explain why people behave the way With a generous grant from the Ethical, Legal, and they do.6 One aim of this report is to help the reader Social Implications program at the National Human get beyond the extravagant claims to begin to appreci- Genome Research Institute, The Hastings Center and ate what behavioral geneticists hope to find and what the American Association for the Advancement of Sci- they have—and have not—found. ence undertook a three-year project called “Crafting Because behavioral genetics aspires to illuminate Tools for Public Conversation about Behavioral Ge- human behavior, it raises questions about human free- netics.” Over the course of the three years, the pro- dom. What does knowledge about the influence of ject’s working group came together five times for genes on behaviors mean for my belief that I am free meetings spanning several days. We also spent count- to choose particular actions? Am I free to choose the less hours in e-mail conversations. The working group qualities of my temperament, like how sunny or em- was made up of