Biology, politics, and the emerging science of human nature.
In the past 50 years, biologists have learned a tremendous amount about human brain function and its genetic basis. At the same time, political scientists have been intensively studying the effect of the social and institutional environment on mass political attitudes and behaviors. However, these separate fields of inquiry are subject to inherent limitations that may only be resolved through collaboration across disciplines. We describe recent advances and argue that biologists and political scientists must work together to advance a new science of human nature.
Fowler
James H
JH
Department of Political Science, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA. jhfowler@ucsd.edu
Schreiber
Darren
D
D001290:Attitude; D005075:Biological Evolution; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D003071:Cognition; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D005796:Genes; D040821:Human Characteristics; D006801:Humans; D033183:Interdisciplinary Communication; D011057:Politics; D012919:Social Behavior