In Defence of Behavioral Genetics

Twin Res Hum Genet. 2026 Jun 3:1-3. doi: 10.1017/thg.2026.10065. Online ahead of print.

Abstract

The author presents a commentary on the trilogy of papers by Damien Morris entitled 'Behavioral Genetics and Human Agency: How Selectively Deterministic Theories of Free Will Drive Unwarranted Opposition to Behavioral Genetic Research and Undermine Our Moral and Legal Conventions', published recently in this journal [PMID 40457806, 40963213, 41107251]. In addition to commenting on this specific set of papers, the author offers a broader perspective and defense of the field of behavioral genetics.

Keywords: Behavioral genetics; Determinism; Free will; Human agency; Human trait exceptionalism; Moral and legal conventions.