ABSTRACT

Humans and most other animals have a dual origin. One of these origins is defined by the genetic background that assembles brains, thereby implanting prewired expectations about the sensory and causal regularities of the world in which we are born. The second origin is the organized system of experiences that provides a plethora of feedback and instructions that slowly shape the brain into its final status. In humans, these experiences start especially early to modify the newborn brain and provide an unusually variable tapestry. For decades, scientists have tried to disentangle the impact of nature and nurture, and have proposed mental territories that are mostly governed by one or the other. Here, I argue that genetic predispositions and environmentally dependent learning processes interact continuously at every neural and mental entity, from cortical development to social customs. Not a single territory of our mind is outside the scope of this interaction.

PRELUDE

Scientific inquiries into the interaction of biology and culture usually study a certain developmental span, an important event, or a neural, affective, or cognitive system to set a stage on which the details of biocultural co-constructivism can be outlined. This approach necessarily takes a narrow focus but provides great depth and insight into the interactive mechanisms. This book provides many outstanding examples of this kind of approach.