I think inter-generational trauma/ Epigenetics is a plausible concept. But I agree with Shrier that the proponents of such a theory bear the burden of proof, which thus far has not been met. OTOH, the example of pre-historic humans having had immense challenges but not resulting in us present day folk having “PTSD” is not a good one….tha…
I think inter-generational trauma/ Epigenetics is a plausible concept. But I agree with Shrier that the proponents of such a theory bear the burden of proof, which thus far has not been met. OTOH, the example of pre-historic humans having had immense challenges but not resulting in us present day folk having “PTSD” is not a good one….that concept literally applies to every human through all of time, and it wouldn’t be labelled as “PTSD”, since it would simply be considered “normal” (there can be nothing more normative than something that affects every human). You need selective exposure (like surviving the Holocaust) in order to have differential effects.
I think inter-generational trauma/ Epigenetics is a plausible concept. But I agree with Shrier that the proponents of such a theory bear the burden of proof, which thus far has not been met. OTOH, the example of pre-historic humans having had immense challenges but not resulting in us present day folk having “PTSD” is not a good one….that concept literally applies to every human through all of time, and it wouldn’t be labelled as “PTSD”, since it would simply be considered “normal” (there can be nothing more normative than something that affects every human). You need selective exposure (like surviving the Holocaust) in order to have differential effects.