Obviously this is just something to think about as it can't be tested but I think it makes more sense than Dawkins memes but that is just my opinion. Whether it is memes or spiritual genes it is really a faith issue.
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.
I spent very little time with my biological father but I have many of his physical traits but I also have many of his personality traits.
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.
Dawkins suggests that it is memes and passed along through the brain some how, but that is pure conjecture and there is no empirical evidence as far as I know.
Memes sound like BS to me.
holmes
"...what a fool believes he sees, no wise man has the power to reason away.."(D. Bros)