Our Genes, Our Choices

Our Genes, Our Choices: How Genotype and Gene Interactions Affect Behavior, Second Edition explains how the complexity of human behavior, including concepts of free will, derives from a relatively small number of genes which direct neurodevelopmental sequences. Are people free to make choices or do genes determine behavior? Paradoxically, the answer to both questions is "yes," because of neurogenetic individuality, a new theory with profound implications. Here, author David Goldman uses judicial, political, medical, and ethical examples to illustrate that this lifelong process is guided by individual genotype, molecular and physiologic principles, as well as by randomness and environmental exposures. Written in an authoritative yet accessible style, the book includes practical descriptions of the function of DNA, discusses the scientific and historical bases of genethics, and introduces the topics of epigenetics and the predictive power of behavioral genetics.

• Updates on the previous edition which was the First Prize winner of the 2013 BMA Medical Book Award for Basic and Clinical Sciences
• Poses and resolves challenges to moral responsibility raised by modern genetics and neuroscience
• Analyzes the neurogenetic origins of human behavior and free will
• Features expanded sections on the neurogenetic basis of free will, polygenic risk scores, and epigenetic influence over behavior, as well as improved figures and updated terminology