An interview with Dr. Barbara Oakley, Ph.D, the author of Evil Genes: Why Rome Fell, Hitler Rose, Enron Failed and My Sister Stole My Mother’s Boyfriend, an exploration of how genetics influence psychopathy. Are some people just bad seeds? Hear what the latest science has to say about nasty people and how they got that way.
 

Evil Genes??  You can’t identify them behaviorally or with diagnostic tools, - - but they are somehow important?  How is it different than saying “The devil made me do it?” She has posited something that can neither be confirmed nor refuted. She is just saying that moral diversity is consistent with natural selection.  Well, that’s a flash.  She has not said anything that helps us understand the world we live in. Or, more importantly, she has said nothing to help us live in it more productively or morally.  Perhaps she is just commenting on the human condition, but she seems to be using pseudo-science as a cover for promoting conservative talking points. Are those that do not agree with her views suffering from “evil genes?” Are people with “evil genes” delusional socialist do-gooders that don’t understand the unintended consequences of trying to restrict the relentless growth of power, privilege, and profit?  Well, perhaps you have identified a dangerous mind - - with an engaging smile.

agreed… she didn’t really seem to be saying much of anything, even though she did lots of talking. gotta love that good old conservative double-talk.

richard seems to have a knack for sidestepping these kinds of dead-end rants while remaining entirely amiable. it’s hilarious.

Hey. I read her book. she kept using her messed up boring sister as an example. Her sister sound like a betch but not a psycho.

Pfft…
Stop pushing the segregation of a people based on genetic markers; you represent the same ideologies as those you try to label as evil. Environment broods “evil” more than genetics could possibly do; just because people have a lack of empathy doesn’t mean they are completely devoid of expressing or feeling it. Look at those with high-functioning autism: you don’t see every kid with aspergers inheriting evil, yet they lack neuronal development in areas of the brain associated with morality and theory of mind.

I watched the interview, and was a little confused by the references, when she kept saying the fact of the matter, and the bottom line, as far as the science she was using, making numbers of genes, and genes of numbers, ect.At any rate, I was reminded of a book I read some years ago about Hitler, and a lot of different people, discussing the evil he was, or not so ( the discussion seeming to be more on just what was “evil” and was Hitler evil per say, or how bad is evil or if banal was evil, ect.) the book was a discussion of if he was indeed"evil”.Some were psychologists, one was a Rabbi, and others were writers and journalists.It seemed to me that even though the Rabbi for instance said that absolutely Hitler was evil, others seemed to be uncertain about the actual meaning of the word.So my question would be, how can science use the word objectively? Is “Evil Genes” an actual scientific sound term? Or, is this still just speculative in that the genes just as easily could be called for instance bad genes, or nasty genes, or even gross genes?And since I haven’t read the book, is this like the “Shellfish Gene?
or the green gene, or if you have too many genius genes, is that why Einstein could not tie his shoe laces? Is there a Socialist gene and a tea-bagger one? Is God hiding in your genes?
sorry, i regress.