ABSTRACT
The previous chapter on human nature introduced the role played by genes in criminal behaviour and this chapter on heredity continues that examination. However, where human nature is the product of the intergenerational transmission of genes over the course of evolutionary history, this chapter is more narrowly concerned with the transmission of genes within the family over just one or two generations. Moreover, the study of human nature is largely concerned with the similarities in genetic make-up across the human species, while the focus here is on genetic variability and individual differences within a given population. Nevertheless, the two approaches are quite consistent with one another. The proposal that humans have a universal, genetically-based, psychological structure does not preclude variations in the strength with which certain characteristics are possessed by individuals, and indeed, evolution depends upon a degree of genetic variability within a species.
