Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Is heritability explanatorily useful?

Christopher H Pearson1

  • 1University of Washington, Department of Philosophy, Seattle, WA 98195, USA. chpearsn@u.washington.edu <chpearsn@u.washington.edu>

Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences
|February 28, 2007
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Theoricity and homology: a reply to Roffe, Ginnobili, and Blanco.

History and philosophy of the life sciences·2018
Same author

Pattern cladism, homology, and theory-neutrality.

History and philosophy of the life sciences·2011
Same journal

Mental health, normativity, and local knowledge in global perspective.

Studies in history and philosophy of biological and biomedical sciences·2020
Same journal

Signals without teleology.

Studies in history and philosophy of biological and biomedical sciences·2020
Same journal

Issues of biopolitics of reproduction in post-war Greece.

Studies in history and philosophy of biological and biomedical sciences·2020
Same journal

Resurecting raciology? Genetic ethnology and pre-1945 anthropological race classification.

Studies in history and philosophy of biological and biomedical sciences·2020
Same journal

Transfer of Lamarckisms and emerging 'scientific' psychologies: 19th - early 20th centuries Britain and France.

Studies in history and philosophy of biological and biomedical sciences·2020
Same journal

Subversive affinities: Embracing soviet science in late 1940s Romania.

Studies in history and philosophy of biological and biomedical sciences·2020
See all related articles

Heritability, a population measure, can explain individual genetic traits. Rethinking its role and using it as evidence supports genetic explanations for behaviors and traits.

Area of Science:

  • Genetics
  • Philosophy of Science
  • Behavioral Science

Background:

  • Heritability is traditionally viewed as a population-level measure.
  • A philosophical challenge exists in applying population-level heritability to individual genetic explanations.
  • The role of heritability in causal and explanatory claims requires re-evaluation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To determine if heritability can be a useful genetic explanation for individual traits or behaviors.
  • To address the philosophical challenge of heritability as a population-level measure.
  • To reconceptualize the role of heritability in scientific explanation.

Main Methods:

  • Philosophical review of heritability concepts.
  • Analysis of causal and explanatory claims in genetics.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Argument for reconceiving conditions for genetic explanation.

    • Main Results:

    • Heritability can be useful for explaining individual genetic traits.
    • Reconceptualizing the conditions for genetic explanation is necessary.
    • Viewing heritability as an evidential tool aligns with standard causal inference methods.

    Conclusions:

    • Heritability can support genetically based explanations of individual traits.
    • Modified understanding of genetic explanation conditions enhances heritability's utility.
    • Heritability serves as a valuable evidential tool in determining genetic causal factors.