Is culture a manifestation of biology?

[carol]

Well I'm sure most racialists don't believe ALL people of other races are incompetent, just it is at higher frequencies. Racists on the other hand are a bit more extreme, but even still, I doubt most racists think ALL people of other races are incompetent. Like you said, it's a matter of frequencies. I'd like to mention that the morphological differences between races are ten times greater than the morphological differences between sexes, who's to say that the same isn't true for neurology?

difference does not have a moral value- it is simply difference. A lot of genetic traits, and our genetic code, are just junk DNA, from what I have been taught, and it seems likely that a lot of the neurological differences may be as well. Until I am taught otherwise.

I still think I define myself in other terms, and do not describe myself as racialist. I hope to develop a much more complex perspective, based upon science, reality, humanity, and kindness. My friends are judged by their good character, and so are my neighbors.

[Talvi]

I think culture is a manifestation of nature, at least in its origin.

[Alberta1]

No it's not. Culture is manifestation of environment. Certainly I am more similar in culture to an Anglo-Canadian than I am to a North Caucasian or a Middle Easterner, although these both have some impact, but in the whole scheme of things it's rather minor. Biology has nothing to do with it. You can take an Arabian from the Desert and culturally assimilate him if he is willing, you can put a Nordic in that same Desert and the same would happen.

[Stefan]

No it's not. Culture is manifestation of environment. Certainly I am more similar in culture to an Anglo-Canadian than I am to a North Caucasian or a Middle Easterner, although these both have some impact, but in the whole scheme of things it's rather minor. Biology has nothing to do with it. You can take an Arabian from the Desert and culturally assimilate him if he is willing, you can put a Nordic in that same Desert and the same would happen.

What about the origination of new cultures. Would an African population had developed the same cultural elements as Europeans if they were placed in the environment of Europe? I don't think they would, at least not without thousands of years of evolution and similar movement from neighboring populations.

[Stefan]

difference does not have a moral value- it is simply difference. A lot of genetic traits, and our genetic code, are just junk DNA, from what I have been taught, and it seems likely that a lot of the neurological differences may be as well. Until I am taught otherwise.
.

These are manifested phenotypes though, and hence not junk DNA. Neurological differences will have their advantages and disadvantages, as we've seen between sexes and at a much larger degree -- races.

[carol]

These are manifested phenotypes though, and hence not junk DNA. Neurological differences will have their advantages and disadvantages, as we've seen between sexes and at a much larger degree -- races.

manifested phenotypes can be caused by junk dna. It is very complicated, but current theories consider both options:
http://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/cg...0junk%20dna%22

http://www.biomedcentral.com/content...04-5-4-105.pdf

http://nar.oxfordjournals.org/content/30/19/4264.short

[Stefan]

manifested phenotypes can be caused by junk dna. It is very complicated, but current theories consider both options:
http://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/cg...0junk%20dna%22

http://www.biomedcentral.com/content...04-5-4-105.pdf

http://nar.oxfordjournals.org/content/30/19/4264.short

I think a distinction should be made between "junk DNA" and "non-coding" DNA.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Junk_DNA

In evolutionary biology and molecular biology, junk DNA is a provisional label for the portions of the DNA sequence of a chromosome or a genome for which no function has been identified.

Not to be confused with Noncoding DNA.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noncoding_DNA

In genetics, noncoding DNA describes components of an organism's DNA sequences that do not encode for protein sequences. In many eukaryotes, a large percentage of an organism's total genome size is noncoding DNA, although the amount of noncoding DNA, and the proportion of coding versus noncoding DNA varies greatly between species.

Much of this DNA has no known biological function and is sometimes referred to as "junk DNA". However, many types of noncoding DNA sequences do have known biological functions, including the transcriptional and translational regulation of protein-coding sequences. Other noncoding sequences have likely, but as-yet undetermined, functions (this is inferred from high levels of homology and conservation seen in sequences that do not encode proteins but, nonetheless, appear to be under heavy selective pressure). While this indicates that noncoding DNA should not be indiscriminately referred to as junk DNA, the lack of sequence conservation in a majority of noncoding DNA with no known function indicates that much of it may indeed be without function.

[carol]

I think a distinction should be made between "junk DNA" and "non-coding" DNA.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Junk_DNA

Granted, you are correct. It was sloppy of me. Teachers used both terms, often interchangeably though.
Oh, and don't use Wikipedia as a scholarly input, you know the drill, scholarly, peer reviewed. Not being critical, just if we are going to go into genetics and neuro-bio, lets stick to peer reviewed data? Saves all sorts of trouble.

[Contra Mundum]

No it's not. Culture is manifestation of environment. Certainly I am more similar in culture to an Anglo-Canadian than I am to a North Caucasian or a Middle Easterner, although these both have some impact, but in the whole scheme of things it's rather minor. Biology has nothing to do with it. You can take an Arabian from the Desert and culturally assimilate him if he is willing, you can put a Nordic in that same Desert and the same would happen.

So culture wasn't created by human beings, it descended upon us from the heavens?

[Stefan]

So culture wasn't created by human beings, it descended upon us from the heavens?

Yep, it sure did.

Damn egalitarian religions ruin everything logical.