DRD4 (liberal) gene

I would like to hear opinions on how this newly discovered gene might answer the question "can there be morals without God".

I'm of the opinion that I have never heard of it. Googling the matter led me to descriptions of it as encouraging thrill-seeking. See for instance

Welcome to the D4DR Club- Let the Adventure Begin!

James H. Fowler, Professor U o C as quoted by fox news 10/28, suggests that it made more sense to be liberal in certain environments and at specific points in human history, thus those traits exibited by the gene are a part of natural selection.

If this is true than morals might just be a part of natural selection, allowing individuals to exist in society.

Does that involve natural selection, however? It would take some sort of advantage for survival and/or reproduction. I'm not sure that there is any.

The advantage might be in a society that is based on the concept that the good of the many is the primary meaning to life. I'm biased, but I associate liberalism with empathy, and I think empathy is certainly a needed trait in some societies (not this one).

conrad beckman said:

The advantage might be in a society that is based on the concept that the good of the many is the primary meaning to life. I'm biased, but I associate liberalism with empathy, and I think empathy is certainly a needed trait in some societies (not this one).

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What factor would cause people who were less liberal to not survive and pass along their genes?

In some past societies a person without this gene would not be a contributing member of that society and he and his offspring that didn't meet societies needs would be banned. And in a society such as ours, the opposite is true. This, I think, may be how all individuals in a species become more compatible as the need for coexistance becomes more important. I will not say what is best for this species, but natural selection will eventually determine this. This is God's plan.

conrad beckman said:

I would like to hear opinions on how this newly discovered gene might answer the question "can there be morals without God".

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Um, it doesn't. It is my understanding that the gene drd4 has been loosely correlated with "thrill-seeking" behavior. Honestly, most of the information seems to be highly sensational and completely blown out of proportion. It is a single dopamine receptor, and some people have more copies than others, and some of those people tend to be more apt to "thrill-seeking." It is absurd to try to say this gene causes anything at this point, let alone a role in "morals without God."

Any society is at it's most "fit" for future survival, if it has individuals with a significant range of behaviors. Different conditions can and will favor various means of behavioral adaptation.

However, the majority of the population will be neither "liberal" nor "conservative"/ "thrill seeking" nor "risk adverse" but will fit nicely in the middle of the standard curve.

The standard curve is your best friend(/haunts you in your sleep) in biology.... learn to love it.


Plus, DRD4 is not reliably linked to "thrill seeking" in any meaningful studies... though it has been linked to certain illnesses like Schizophrenia and Parkinson's. Ultimately human behavior can not be linked to singular alleles of any gene. Behavior is a complex emergent property of the chemical cascades in the brain. It is the result of many genes as well as environmental factors.

wa:do

Kilgore Trout said:

What factor would cause people who were less liberal to not survive and pass along their genes?

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Starting wars and preaching abstinence would be a start, if only the abstinence preaching worked.