Читать книгу Bioethics - Группа авторов - Страница 104

A crucial theoretical task for psychology is the construction of a satisfactory theory to explain the acquisition of traits of character, and central to the development of such a theory is information about the extent to which various traits are (a) inherited, (b) dependent upon aspects of the environment that are controllable, or (c) dependent upon factors, either in the brain, or in the environment, that have a chancy quality. Such knowledge, however, is not just theoretically crucial to psychology. Knowledge of the contributions that are, and are not, made to the individual's development by his or her genetic makeup, by the prenatal state of the individual’s brain, by the environment in which he or she matures, and by chance events, will enable one to develop approaches to childrearing that will increase, at least to some extent, the likelihood that one can raise children with desirable traits, and thus people who will have a better chance of realizing their potentials, and of leading happy and satisfying lives. So this knowledge is not merely of great theoretical interest: it is also potentially very beneficial to society.

In the attempt to construct an adequate theory of human development, one thing that has been very important, and that has generated considerable information concerning the nature/nurture issue, is the study of identical twins. Complete and fully adequate theories, however, still seem rather remote. Cloning would provide a powerful way of speeding up scientific progress in this area, since society could produce a number of individuals with the same genetic makeup, and then choose adoptive parents who would provide those individuals with good, but significantly different environments, in which to mature. The resulting scientific knowledge, in turn, would hopefully sweep away, in the end, advice of the kinds that are currently being offered to parents – almost all of which, as Judith Rich Harris has convincingly argued (2009, 309–29) – rests on claims against which there is very strong scientific evidence. With that rubbish gone, parents could be provided with scientifically based information about what they can and cannot hope to achieve in rearing children, and about what things are most likely to be helpful.