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Behavior genetics: Causality as a dialectical pursuit

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 September 2023

Livio Tarchi Open the ORCID record for Livio Tarchi [Opens in a new window] ,
Giuseppe Pierpaolo Merola Open the ORCID record for Giuseppe Pierpaolo Merola [Opens in a new window] ,
Giovanni Castellini Open the ORCID record for Giovanni Castellini [Opens in a new window]  and
Valdo Ricca Open the ORCID record for Valdo Ricca [Opens in a new window]
Livio Tarchi
Affiliation:
Psychiatry Unit, Department of Health Sciences, University of Florence, Florence, FI, Italy livio.tarchi@unifi.it giuseppepierpaolo.merola@unifi.it giovanni.castellini@unifi.it valdo.ricca@unifi.it
Giuseppe Pierpaolo Merola
Affiliation:
Psychiatry Unit, Department of Health Sciences, University of Florence, Florence, FI, Italy livio.tarchi@unifi.it giuseppepierpaolo.merola@unifi.it giovanni.castellini@unifi.it valdo.ricca@unifi.it
Giovanni Castellini
Affiliation:
Psychiatry Unit, Department of Health Sciences, University of Florence, Florence, FI, Italy livio.tarchi@unifi.it giuseppepierpaolo.merola@unifi.it giovanni.castellini@unifi.it valdo.ricca@unifi.it
Valdo Ricca
Affiliation:
Psychiatry Unit, Department of Health Sciences, University of Florence, Florence, FI, Italy livio.tarchi@unifi.it giuseppepierpaolo.merola@unifi.it giovanni.castellini@unifi.it valdo.ricca@unifi.it
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Abstract

The overarching theme of causality in behavioral genetics is discussed on epistemological grounds. Evidence is offered in favor of a continuum spectrum in causality, in contrast to discrimination between causal factors and associations. The risk of invalidating exploratory studies in behavior genetics is discussed, especially for the potential impact on those fields of medicine interested in complex behaviors.

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Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 46 , 2023 , e203
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Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press

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