Is there any qualitative difference between saying "the stars dictate your temperament / personality / fate / etc." and saying that genetics does the same thing? Or in other words, is stereotyping based on genetics a bad kind of stereotyping? Some stereotyping can be good - saying, for instance, to a tall person that they will most likely be more successful as a basketball player instead of jockey. The ethical terrain begins to get murky if we start to say that people with genes favoring intelligence ought to be shunted toward more intellectually stimulating schools, and kids who don't have those genes should be denied certain opportunities. I really don't have a good answer to these questions - I'm just throwing this out as food for thought.
Is there any qualitative difference between saying "the stars dictate your temperament / personality / fate / etc." and saying that genetics does the same thing? Or in other words, is stereotyping based on genetics a bad kind of stereotyping? Some stereotyping can be good - saying, for instance, to a tall person that they will most likely be more successful as a basketball player instead of jockey. The ethical terrain begins to get murky if we start to say that people with genes favoring intelligence ought to be shunted toward more intellectually stimulating schools, and kids who don't have those genes should be denied certain opportunities. I really don't have a good answer to these questions - I'm just throwing this out as food for thought.