by Paul Martin (Author), Patrick Bateson (Author)
How and why does each of us grow up to be the person we are? What role do genes play in shaping our behaviour and personalities? Are our characters fixed, or can we change as adults? How does early experience affect our sexual preferences? Design for a Life explains the science of behavioural development - the biological and psychological processes that build a unique adult from a fertilised egg. Instead of the conventional opposition between nature (genes) and nurture (environment), Design for a Life offers a new approach that synthesises biology and psychology. It explores the developmental cooking processes that give rise to individuals, and considers in turn how these processes have evolved.
Format: Paperback
Pages: 288
Edition: New edition
Publisher: Vintage
Published: 07 Sep 2000
ISBN 10: 0099267624
ISBN 13: 9780099267621
Book Overview: 'In a refreshingly lucid and accessible manner, the authors step delicately and successfully through the minefield of the nature-versus-nurture debate that has pitted biologists against social scientists for centuries' - Times Higher Education Supplement