Free–or not–there’s a lot to think about!

Welcome back to the discussion after the 3rd event in the Future Perfect series. Last night we continued the exploration of genetics by looking at the question, “How free are we?” with a psychologist, a bioethicist, and a novelist. Dr. Eric Turkheimer, a professor of psychology at the University of Virginia raised some challenging questions through his discussion of twin studies. By studying the behavior, personality, and even physical health of both identical and non-identical (also called fraternal) twins, researchers thought we would begin to see which traits or characteristics are genetic and which are not. The surprise to all involved is that everything studied during decades of twin analysis, from mental illness to marital status, is more closely correlated in identical twins who share the same DNA than in non-identical twins who are simply siblings born at the same time. Does this mean that genetics explain everything?

Not really, reminds both Turkheimer and Laurie Zoloth, professor of bioethics at Northwestern University. Behavior, especially complex behavior, is something that is influenced by not just one gene but a collection of genes plus the influences of environment. Philosophers have debated the question of free will for centuries, but in the process of asking and discussing this question, do we not arrive at some conclusions about humanity and our desire to think that we operate as independent beings?

And perhaps nothing draws such weighty philosophical questions together quite like a good book. Rounding out the panel from yesterday, Kevin Guilfoile shared some thoughts and passages from his novel, Cast of Shadows. The book centers around a dilemma that forces us to consider Dr. Zoloth’s philosophical questions of not only what it means to be human but also what it means to be free. In the novel, one of the main characters is a fertility expert who uses DNA from the crime scene at which his daughter was violently attacked and murdered to clone the killer in attempts to identify him from the physical resemblance of the clone. And if that makes your head spin, it should: although a fictional scenario, what can the physician protagonist say when confronted by the now 15-year old clone who has discovered the secret of his genes?

The Q&A session started addressing some of the issues this month’s topic in genetics challenges us to consider, but there is so much more left to think about, discuss, and question. Whether you were able to attend yesterday’s event or not, let’s keep the discussion going. Here’s an opportunity to ask the questions that weren’t answered yesterday or share some new ones. To kick things off, although the theoretical concepts of free will are fascinating in themselves, I can’t help wondering about what happens when we reach a practical application of the results. If you were sitting on a jury and heard a defense attorney claim that his client wasn’t responsible for the crime because, “his genes programmed him to pull the trigger,” would you accept that defense…or not?

Amanda
IHC facilitator

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