Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
each. Then there is the problem of any sort of integration of one's knowl-
edge and the validity of the methodological claims on which one rests
the validity of such integration.
To choose a context is to choose a viewpoint, and to choose a view-
point is to choose not to see from other viewpoints. This does not mean
that other viewpoints are invalid or wrong, but that a multiplicity of
viewpoints cannot be simultaneously maintained. This is why the
metaphor of triangulation from biological, philosophical, and cultural
perspectives is, I think, critical in this chapter. One needs to think of
human beings and human nature from a variety of viewpoints so that
one can eventually gain some perspective and some overlap of perspec-
tive. By sighting ourselves from different perspectives, we can gradually
gain a deeper understanding of our nature. In particular in this chapter,
I will be focusing on issues of freedom, altruism, and transcen-
dence because of their centrality in both philosophical and biological
discussions.
But to do this is to enter into a variety of controversies: creationism
versus evolution, the sociobiology wars, the mechanisms of evolution
debate, philosophical debates, and theological controversies. I think this
cannot be avoided. Simultaneously, we must also be aware of the provi-
sional nature of our method and argument. Today's commonly accepted
facts are tomorrow's erroneous theories.
In what follows, then, I wish to present several perspectives on devel-
opments in contemporary genetics to help learn who we are as humans
and what implications these perspectives might have for understanding
our place in our common cosmos, as well as the implications for
religion and ethics.
General Perspectives on Human Nature from Genetics
Evolution
Although perhaps something like 30 to 40 percent of Americans and the
school board of the state of Kansas might disagree, the dominant scien-
tifically accepted explanation for the development of life on this planet—
from viruses to humans, and everything in between—is some form of
Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. This theory has been united with
elements of Mendelian genetics to form what is referred to as the Modern
