Genetics play a huge part in who we are. But we also have free will.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
I am very comfortable with the idea that we can override biology with free will.
As far as I can see, it's not important that we have free will, just as long as we have the illusion of free will to stop us going mad.
Genes can't possibly explain all of what makes us what we are.
I think we all have a selfish gene which rises to the top, sometimes. But then we're also all capable of a sudden magnanimity.
Genetics do play a role in how you consciously or subconsciously manifest your true self.
We are fashioned not by our genes, but by our environment - by the family and socio-historic conditions in which we evolve.
Of course, genes can't pull the levers of our behavior directly. But they affect the wiring and workings of the brain, and the brain is the seat of our drives, temperaments and patterns of thought.
Genetics is crude, but neuroscience goes directly to work on the brain, and the mind follows.
People think genes are an absolute cause of traits. But the notion that the genome is the blueprint for humanity is a very bad metaphor. If you think we're hard-wired and deterministic, there should indeed be a lot more genes.
God, our genes, our environment, or some stupid programmer keying in code at an ancient terminal - there's no way free will can ever exist if we as individuals are the result of some external cause.