Genotype and phenotype as natural science and social categories

These two concepts today have become quite widespread in various fields of knowledge, although their initial use was exclusively in the field of biology. The definition of "human genotype" first appeared in scientific circulation through the works of Johanson, when in 1909 he used it to describe a complex of hereditary properties of the organism. The category "genotype" differs in content from the concepts of genome and gene pool, as it characterizes a separate biological individual, and the genome and gene pool reflect the genetic characteristics of the biological species as a whole.

The concepts of genotype and phenotype also differ. If the genotype characterizes only its own hereditary characteristics that are peculiar to a single organism outside its dependence on other factors, then the phenotype reflects properties that include the action of the environment, mediating genetic changes.

In its most general form, the genotype as an integral system differs from the phenotype by the following parameters:

- they have different sources of genetic information (in the genotype it is DNA, the phenotype records information obtained by external examination of the organism);

- as a consequence, the same genotype can manifest as a component of various phenotypes.

In addition, the concept of genotype (as a biological phenomenon) is considered in both broad and narrow meanings. In a narrow sense, this is, as already said, a unique combination of genes, and in a broad sense - a combination of all the signs of heredity that are formed by genetic means. In this sense, the genotype is manifested through a unique combination of highly individual genetic sets (genomes) of traits received from parents.

Thus, another difference is formed: the genotype and the phenotype differ in that the phenotype under the influence of external factors can vary throughout the life cycle, while the genotype will remain unchanged all the time.

As a result, the genotype can also be determined in a different way, where it is defined as:

- a combination of genomic characteristics peculiar only to the given individual;

- Parameters of specific pairs of alleles (one of the two different sequence forms of the gene) contained in a particular genome.

The phenotype is a fixed physicochemical parameters of the organism that determine not only the biological and biochemical individuality, but also the behavioral one. This term, like the genotype, is used in two interpretations. In a broad sense, the phenotype reflects all the signs of the individuality of the organism. In a narrower sense, the phenotype is considered as a criterion for distinguishing certain types of organisms, for example, high individuals have one phenotype, undersized ones - the other.

In the middle of the 19th century, during the formation of sociology as a science, one of the most popular concepts of the consideration of society, was G. Spencer's doctrine of organicism, the essence of which, in its most general form, was that Spencer tried to represent society by analogy with a growing human organism. The differentiation of human communities was ensured in this doctrine by the unique properties of each people, by its culture, by its mentality, by the peculiarities of the historical path, by the prevailing types of social thinking and behavior, and by many others.

This ultimately led to the fact that the concepts of genotype and phenotype were also spread in social studies. The simplest version of this interpretation is the allocation of the so-called eastern and western genotypes of society, where the defining parameters of their differentiation are precisely the characteristics of the social structure and mentality. Mental and social culture, the historical path of development, religion and others. The use of genotype and phenotype categories in social spheres made it possible to apply them to sociocultural criteria in the study of peoples, races, some, mainly, large social groups and communities.