The concept of Heredity is fundamental to how we see ourselves and others.
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He charts the changing ways in which scholars and laypersons have believed Heredity to work, the development of spurious and self-serving beliefs about Heredity by dominant groups, the recent revolution in our ability to understand the mechanics of heredity, and the difficult dilemmas our species is likely to face as we gain increasing mastery over the contents of our own genomes.
In this Very Short Introduction John Waller traces the diverse ideas about biological inheritance expressed by Europeans and their colonial descendants during two millennia of human history.
Slavery, colonialism, and genocide, the unequal treatment of women, and the concentration of power and wealth in the hands of the few have been consistently rationalized in the language of Heredity and \'natural\' hierarchy.
It has also been used for ideological purposes to impute innate differences in character and rationality between males and females and among different ethnicities and social classes.
The simple idea that children take after their ancestors has long been central to science and medicine and to the breeding of plants and animals.
We routinely ascribe similarities in personality, intellect, outlook, and aptitude between family members to what\'s passed down in sperm and eggs.
It goes far beyond the obvious continuity of physical traits across generations.
The concept of Heredity is fundamental to how we see ourselves and others
