Do Linking‐Expression Substitutions Mitigate Deterministic Interpretations of Genetic Information?

It is a common concern that broader audiences interpret scientific information about the genetic correlates and causes of complex human traits in an overly deterministic manner. A frequently proposed way to address this issue is to carefully select the linking expressions used to describe gene–trait...

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Publicado en:Journal of Applied Philosophy Vol. 43; no. 4; pp. 973 - 997
Autor principal: Kõiv, Riin
Formato: Artículo
Publicado: Wiley-Blackwell Aug2026
Materias:
Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
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      dt: Aug2026
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      pub: Wiley-Blackwell
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        10.1002/japp.70102
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        atl: Do Linking‐Expression Substitutions Mitigate Deterministic Interpretations of Genetic Information?
      aug:
        au: Kõiv, Riin
        affil: Department of Philosophy, LOGOS, Barcelona Institute of Analytic Philosophy, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
      su:
        Genetic determinism
        Scientific communication
        Genetic correlations
        Genetic code
        Discourse markers
        Communication patterns
      sug:
        subj:
          Genetic determinism
          Scientific communication
          Genetic correlations
          Genetic code
          Discourse markers
          Communication patterns
      ab: It is a common concern that broader audiences interpret scientific information about the genetic correlates and causes of complex human traits in an overly deterministic manner. A frequently proposed way to address this issue is to carefully select the linking expressions used to describe gene–trait relationships when communicating genetic information – for example, by replacing explicitly causal expressions with statistical ones, or by avoiding strong causal expressions in favor of weaker ones. Although such recommendations are widespread, the efficacy of linking‐expression substitutions in mitigating deterministic interpretations is rarely examined. This article argues that the context sensitivity of linguistic interpretation, together with the hypothesis of genetic essentialism, predicts that such substitutions have little effect on how deterministically broader audiences interpret genetic information.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype: Article
      src: R
    language: English
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          year: 2026
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