Is it Really Their Fault? What We are not Considering When We Judge

The Importance of Epigenetics in Social Interactions and Consciousness
A Layman's Understanding

I myself have always been a lifelong critic, taking every opportunity to scrutinize an action, idea, or personality. I always had a penchant for analysis and judgment, even in scenarios where it seemed to be both superfluous and an impediment; to others, this behavior was demonstrably counter-intuitive. Never being able to understand everyone else's indifference in this way, I erroneously attributed flippancy and ignorance to those who could not empathize with my plight. This increased the chances of enmity between me and my colleagues, and almost always fostered some form of reasonable dissent. Needless to say, this characteristic demanded excessive patience not only from others, but as I discovered later, also from myself. The more aware I became of my own insularity, the more taxing and disruptive hypercriticism promised to be. However, in one sense I am sure it has been beneficial - reconsideration of behavioral provenance. In other words, can people's personal tendencies and actions be solely accounted for by life experiences? I will forewarn you now, below are the blatherings of an uninformed madman. 

I am quite aware of the nature vs. nurture trope, but I always focused much more on the latter, simply because the former was too convoluted and unintelligible to me. Asking me to study scientific disciplines and acquire a half-decent comprehension of the material still remains one of the easiest ways to display my own idiocy - yet I think that I have stumbled across something that could prove to be essential not only academically, but also in social discourse. 

The field of epigenetics, which (to my poor understanding) involves the study of the influence of social and personal characteristics in biological heredity, may just provide an animal rights point here. Perhaps this new aspect of science can introduce some insight into an individual's predispositions and cerebral wiring. As such, it would elucidate the source of many misunderstandings and consternation among us humans. If scientists and intellectuals can solve these mysteries to any extent, it would import a whole ocean of new philosophical questions and studies. For example: If someone's propensity toward heartbreak and a privilege of emotion over reason can be explained by biological phenomena, does our criticism of their lack of responsibility to themselves and others hold as much weight? In other words, since the brain is the origin of thought and deliberation, would it not mean that everyone is held hostage by their chemical make-up? Can anyone truly be faulted of an indecent or incorrect action if their cranium enslaves them to think a certain way? Those are very difficult questions to answer, and are more than likely ill-phrased and uninformed due to the questioner. To my mind (if they are not simultaneous or one and the same thing) chemical reactions in the brain (influenced by the passing of genes from our ancestors) presuppose thought and our ability to consider information. Thus, we are if not entirely prevented, but hindered from being able to make a more objective decision. I could pose questions and muse for days about whether or not epigenetics affect a priori to thought, or have any grave impact on the nature of our lives. Either way, this meditation will always resonate with me and cause me to be more considerate and empathetic toward others. 

I do not want to romanticize human relations even further than they already are in present Western society, because I do think that an invocation of skepticism and self-reflection could help to cure one's attitudinal afflictions. Then again, one would have to consider the obvious paradox created by that idea: if it is so encoded in their DNA, people may not even recognize or see the value in self-criticism. Thus, the whole idea of what presupposes what continues, and an infinite regression ensues. Ugh, my head hurts.

Here is what I conclude - be more considerate!

Yours truly, someone who does not know if he was predisposed to question epigenetics