Hostname: page-component-5db58dd55d-8lnk4 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2026-05-28T08:35:38.111Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Shallow versus deep genetic causes

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 September 2023

Adam C. Smith  and
Stephen M. Downes Open the ORCID record for Stephen M. Downes [Opens in a new window]
Adam C. Smith
Affiliation:
Philosophy Department, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA adam.c.smith@utah.edu; s.downes@utah.edu
Stephen M. Downes
Affiliation:
Philosophy Department, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA adam.c.smith@utah.edu; s.downes@utah.edu
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

We argue that Madole & Harden's distinction between shallow versus deep genetic causes can bring some clarity to causal claims arising from genome-wide association studies (GWASs). However, the authors argue that GWAS only finds shallow genetic causes, making GWAS commensurate with the environmental studies they hope to supplant. We also assess whether their distinction applies best to explanations or causes.

Information

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 46 , 2023 , e201
Check for updates
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Gannett, L. (1999). What's in a cause?: The pragmatic dimensions of genetic explanations. Biology & Philosophy, 14(3), 349–373. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1006583215835CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lynch, K. E., & Bourrat, P. (2017). Interpreting heritability causally. Philosophy of Science, 84(1), 14–34. https://doi.org/10.1086/688933CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Noble, D. (2008). Genes and causation. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences, 366(1878), 3001–3015. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2008.0086CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Northcott, R. (2012). Genetic traits and causal explanation. In Plaisance, K. S. & Reydon, T. A. C. (Eds.), Philosophy of behavioral biology (Vol. 282, pp. 65–82). Springer Netherlands. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-1951CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Oftedal, G. (2005). Heritability and genetic causation. Philosophy of Science, 72(5), 699–709. https://doi.org/10.1086/508126CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schaffner, K. F. (2016). Behaving: What's genetic, what's not, and why should we care? (1st ed.). Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sober, E. (2000). The meaning of genetic causation. In Buchanan, A., Brock, D. W., Wikler, D. & Daniels, N. (Eds.), From chance to choice: Genetics and justice (pp. 347–370). Cambridge University Press. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511806940.010CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Turkheimer, E. (1998). Heritability and biological explanation. Psychological Review, 105(4), 782–791. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.105.4.782-791CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Turkheimer, E. (2016). Weak genetic explanation 20 years later: Reply to Plomin et al. (2016). Perspectives on Psychological Science, 11(1), 24–28. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691615617442CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Waters, C. K. (2007). Causes that make a difference. The Journal of Philosophy, 104(11), 551–579.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Woodward, J. (2003). Making things happen: A theory of causal explanation. Oxford University Press.Google Scholar