Nature AND Nurture

In The Moral Animal, Wright’s position, seems to be that, while we may perceive that we have complete and total control over our behavioral tendencies and our choice of action in any given situation, we actually are responding to our biology. In essence, our actions can be boiled down to chemical reactions. While Wright’s ideas are certainly logical and well-supported within the scientific community, there is one major problem that I have with his findings. If we are merely at the mercy of our biology, then responsibility and morality become irrelevant, and in a sense so do we. Instead of excusing ourselves on account of our nature, I think that we should take into account the information that Wright reveals to us and learn recognize the genetic components of our nature and habituate ourselves to act in a way that is accordance with our moral ideals. Nature and nurture should not be in conflict, or mutually exclusive, but rather should work together to determine how we live our lives.