Fortune’s Favor
Behavioral genetics, distributive justice and retributive justice.
+ Human AgencyExplore the archive
Research framework
Science asks what.
Agency asks what now?
Genetic influence is real. Its meaning is never automatic. The initiative brought empirical scientists and philosophers together to study the space between the two.
01 / THE FRAME
Human outcomes emerge from developing systems—not from genes acting alone.
Genetic data can improve prediction without explaining the mechanisms that connect genomes to lives.
Social and developmental contexts do not merely modify genetic effects; they help constitute the outcomes being studied.
02 / PARTICIPATING PROJECTS
Read project essays ↗
Genetic Influences on Agency
A theory integrating science, philosophy and public action.
Post-genomic Genetics
Gene–environment interplay and the role of the person.
Turkheimer’s Projects
The possibilities and limits of behavioral genetic explanation.
03 / ARCHIVE CONTEXT
A $3.5M interdisciplinary initiative.
Sponsored by the John Templeton Foundation and led by Eric Turkheimer at the University of Virginia, Genetics and Human Agency funded collaborations between empirical scientists and philosophers.
The original programme supported three-year projects, junior investigators and journalism fellowships. Calls for proposals shown on the legacy site are preserved as history and are not presented here as currently open.