I have often wondered whether people's temperaments predispose them for success or failure in a given environment. The simplest example would be, say, that a young man who finds it easy to sit still and concentrate might be more successful in school than one who was too active to comfortably spend long hours at a desk, but the active one might be more successful in an environment that was physically demanding. That seems simple enough, we all know that some people are born more active than others.
The harder questions have to do, in my mind, with neurochemistry. There is substantial evidence that people with low serotonin levels not only suffer from depression, but also engage in self-medication with drugs and alcohol, and that those incarcerated in prisons have substantially lower serotonin levels, statistically, than the population at large.
If things like low serotonin levels and hyperactivity are heritable, and can't be blamed on poor diet or a bad mother, then maybe there's a reason that antisocial and even criminal behavior runs in families.
But I realize thoughts like these are dangerous. |
