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The Genetic Lottery: Debunking Myths about DNA, with Kathryn Paige Harden and Helen Lewis

Science &
Technology

A bold new alternative for a society where everyone thrives, regardless of how they fare in the genetic lottery

The subject of genetic inheritance provokes passionate debate. Those on the left have tended to downplay the significance of inherited traits for fear it could promote ideas about ethnic superiority, while some on the right have argued that variations in IQ and other cognitive markers can be traced to genetic differences between individuals. 

Behavioural geneticist Kathryn Paige Harden believes both sides are getting it wrong. It’s possible, she argued, to reclaim the science of genetics while avoiding the trap of categorising traits as superior or inferior. Drawing from her new book The Genetic Lottery, Harden came to Intelligence Squared to discuss her research findings as head of the Developmental Behavior Genetics lab at University Texas. In conversation with Helen Lewis, Harden argued that our refusal to recognise the power of DNA in shaping societal outcomes perpetuates a myth of meritocracy. Instead, she will outline a bold new alternative for a society where everyone thrives, regardless of how they fare in the genetic lottery.

Event Name

The Genetic Lottery: Debunking Myths about DNA, with Kathryn Paige Harden and Helen Lewis

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Speakers for the motion

  • Kathryn Paige Harden

    Psychologist and behavioural geneticist

Chair

  • Helen Lewis

    Journalist, author and broadcaster

Speakers are subject to change.

Speakers

Speaker

Kathryn Paige Harden

Psychologist and behavioural geneticist

Psychologist and behavioural geneticist. She is Professor of Psychology at the University of Texas at Austin, where she is also the leader of the Developmental Behavior Genetics lab and the co-director of the Texas Twin Project. Her new book is The Genetic Lottery: Why DNA Matters for Social Equality.
Chair

Helen Lewis

Journalist, author and broadcaster

Cambridge professor and columnist for the New Statesman. Her current research concentrates on the political economy of energy and the long history of the democratic, economic, and geopolitical disruptions of the twenty-first century. She is a regular panellist on Talking Politics and co-hosts the These Times podcast for Unherd, which seeks to provide a deeper, historical understanding of the news.

 

Speakers subject to change.