Genes and Personality

That is not correct. The conclusion is that the actual proportion of traits which are inherited are unknown, and may well remain unknown or unknowable for some time.In fact, depending on what you mean by "traits", it is possible that very few or all are inherited. That is probably one of the first things that has to get specified. There is currently an equivocation in that field between behaviors and functions which might underlie behaviors and so effect them in some way (though not in an absolutely detremined way). As of this date I am pretty confident that the answer is 100% no.And it is my position (which I will add has been tested by two different proponents of Evo Psych) is that the answers to such questions will require much more genetic, and neurological research. And then I feel it is likely that genetics won't play as an important a role as developmental environment.Certainly the brain is a physical organ and so one's very being, including behaviors, are manifested from a set of physical objects and chemical functions. However genes are likely just going to be presets for how a brain will develop given an environment, rather than in any environment. And even then it may be more probabilistic then deterministic.By the way, anyone interested in the physical nature of who we are (genetically determined or other) I highly recommend Oliver Sacks' book The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat.

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holmes
"...what a fool believes he sees, no wise man has the power to reason away.."(D. Bros)

Actually it can be in some ways. With advanced genetic and neurological research/understanding of how the brain forms and functions, as well as how brain physical forms and functions relate to behaviors and traits, we can start weeding out some of the above possibilities.We are not nearly at that point now, and it is a field of exploration. Having been reading up on neuro alot recently I find it one of the most interesting fields of research going on at this time. It begins to place identity and traits in a physical object capable of being studied. Again I recommend Sacks' book The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat.If personality traits are at all spiritual, how then do you explain the change of personality and behavior in individuals with physical brain changes? It seems to me the only possible explanation would be that the physical brain acts as a conduit for the spirit, and perhaps brain abnormalities can skew the spirit's ability to properly control the body. This is not sarcastic, but goes back to a question I raised in my original reply: What do you define as personality traits? Which ones do you share with your biological father and how do you know this?Remember that I am not excluding this possibility, though I do doubt that a majority of ones personality would be shaped in this way. Memes sound like BS to me.

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holmes
"...what a fool believes he sees, no wise man has the power to reason away.."(D. Bros)

If it is true that you have a soul which is separate from body, and thus is universal in some aspect, then how exactly could your father have passed on his personality to you? What would be the mechanism of his soul influencing your soul's nature?Also, if the body does act as a conduit between soul and worldly function, how do you disentangle bodily constraints causing the appearance of a specific personality and your soul's actual personality?

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holmes
"...what a fool believes he sees, no wise man has the power to reason away.."(D. Bros)

No a mechanism can be anything as long as there is a chain of cause and effect. I am trying to figure out how an eternal soul with certain traits gives another eternal soul certain traits, when their only apparent connection is a temporary physical connection of passing physical genes from one body to another.There must be some mechanism, even if it involves spirits. Actually I already understood that explanation you gave for why a damaged brain would not properly reflect the soul it is representing (or receiving inputs from). My question is how do you determine the difference between a brain that is damaged and so altering inputs, and the fact that a brain itself (functioning perfectly) might influence inputs?It seems to me the latter is not only possible, but necessary given environmental factors known to effect the brain. Thus we can never really see or know the spirit nature behind it, and thus whether your spirit is really like your dad, or whether the brain you have has given you similar outputs given specific inputs as your dad.

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holmes
"...what a fool believes he sees, no wise man has the power to reason away.."(D. Bros)

Well this is interesting. You are correct that it is speculation, but then outside of direct rebuttal as well. More important in this specific case is why and how would two spirits who are only interacting at a point in time, end up affecting (creating?) a spirit outside of time. You not only have the problem of the infinite affecting the temporal, but the temporal effecting the infinite. Sure, they are interesting ideas and keep the mind active. Maybe they could be true as well, we'll just have to wait and see.

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holmes
"...what a fool believes he sees, no wise man has the power to reason away.."(D. Bros)

I have asked that same question (most souls being born) with regard to the abortion debate. It actually leads to some other questions as well, regarding destruction of souls.Antiabortion people often act as if it is such a tragedy, but if the souls are universal and simply moved to occupy a body at some time and are denied at that time, what then is the tragedy? Are they capable of being harmed by this, or unable to manifest themselves later?Great line of questioning, and thank you for mentioning Chimera, I had not heard of that phenomena before and so am vastly intrigued... off to the library!

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holmes
"...what a fool believes he sees, no wise man has the power to reason away.."(D. Bros)