INFLUENCE OF HEREDITY

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXII, Issue 22139, 19 June 1935, Page 10

INFLUENCE OF HEREDITY

"Beware of the nonsense which is talked about race," said Dr. H. R. Mess, director of the Tyneside Council of Social Service, in a talk broadcast by the 8.8.C. "There certainly are racial differences: of temperament and of ability, as well as of physique. But they have been very little explored as yet, and it is quite premature to generalise about them. And so far as European countries are concerned, no nation is of pure stock; the races are intermingled. There is little doubt that some differences in national outlook have a racial basis, that is, an hereditary basis; but we have not yet got the means of ascertaining scientifically which differences are due to heredity, which to history and circumstances. The Germans are a military nation; the Danes are not; but would it be a wild assertion to say that the Germans aro by heredity more pugnacious than the Danes. The difference between them is more likely to be a matter of tradition and of institutions, that is to say, of social heritage. Now a certain amount of what I have been saying may have sounded rather negative. It amounts to this: that heredity is certainly very important, but that it is extremely difficult in the case of man to say what is due to heredity and what is due to environment, and especially to social heritage. And that is precisely the truth. We still need a great deal more research into human heredity; it would be one of the most profitable investments any government or any millionaire could make. Still, we know a certain amount, enough to be useful, especially if we have the common sense to remember the limitations of our knowlsdge. Individuals can sometimes learn quite a deal about themselves and their make-up by studying their family histories. And we are beginning to know something about the psychology of different races; it may help us later on to understand the psychology of different nations."