What's more, we should let it. More tellingly, Ridley believes that the caution of bioethics committees is foolish. He extends this view to espouse the usual, dated stereotypes about gender differences. Yet Ridley muddies the picture somewhat, by claiming to shun simple-minded biological determinism. Back with his story about heart disease, Ridley says it is misleading to think of genes or cortisol or even information processing in the brain as the cause of stress.
Stress is caused by the outside world.
The truth is nobody is in charge . . . And stress is one of them. But even if genes don't control our behaviour in a simplistic way, Ridley still has everything working through the genes. Missionary fervour leads to uncritical perspectives. For example, behavioural psychology offers convenient explanations of social problems, but there are profound policy implications of theories that place blame on individuals and absolve the state from responsibility.