Product Description

A brilliant and thought-provoking examination of how the study of twins informs our understandings of free will, individual identity and human nature. How do we come to be who we are? How free are we to decide on the direction of our lives? Given the moral injunctions against experimenting on humans, the experience of twins, identical in their genes, upbringing or both, are crucial evidence in answering these questions. Lawrence Wright's brilliant book looks at twin research and shows how it increasingly illuminates our understanding of the old nature ir nurture, genes or environment debate. Twins is a remarkable piece of science writing, and 1 of the best and most accessible examples of how Darwinian ideas, evolutionary psychology and mosern genetics are illuminating human nature.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #975463 in Books
• Published on: 1998-11-02
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 192 pages

Review
From National Magazine Award - winning journalist Wright (Remembering Satan, 1994, etc.), a survey of twin research that is adding fresh fuel to the old argument over nature versus nurture. In this expanded version of a New Yorker piece, Wright describes the history of twin research as "one of the most appalling chapters in science." From 19th-century twin studies used to rationalize the British class system, to the monstrous experiments of the Nazi doctor Josef Mengele on twins in Auschwitz, to studies seized on by American scientists to justify racial discrimination, genetic research utilizing twins has been used both to challenge and to support strongly held beliefs about the relative contribution of genes and environment to intelligence, to personality, to our very identity as human beings. Because studies of genetically identical twins and raised in different adoptive homes are crucial to separating the influence of heredity and environment, research in these areas has often been marked by controversy. Now Wright reveals how behavioral genetics, largely through twin studies, is making a persuasive case for the power of genes, asserting that after a certain age, the environment itself is a reflection of one's genetic disposition. Wright's account is both informative and entertaining, providing scientific data about the still little understood phenomenon of twinning itself and full of intriguing stories about the remarkable similarities in history between identical twins reared separately. Perhaps even more astonishing are accounts of their differences (would you believe identical twins of the opposite sex?). As the author points out, it may be that the differences in identical twins will turn out to be more informative than the similarities. A provocative subject well considered by a talented journalist. (Kirkus Reviews)

Customer Reviews

An Enlightening Look at Twins
This is a short book which explores twin research, the nature of twins, and what the study of twins can tell us about ourselves. The appalling experiments conducted by the Nazi Dr Josef Mengele described by Wright remain in the mind long after the book is finished, but the book as a whole is neither depressing nor horrific; rather, it is a level-headed look at what twin research, particularly behavioural genetics, can tell us about personality development. Some readers may be suprised at the extent to which our genetic make-up can shape aspects of our personality and intelligence, and indeed one of the most fascinating themes to emerge from the book is that not only are twins reared apart very similar, they are no less similar than twins reared together. This suggests that the shared environment of individuals does little to shape their personalities. Read this book for a refreshing view of the sometimes stale nature/nurture debate, and discover how your nature can mould your nurture.