More “Genetics” from Deepak Chopra
AHHHH!! Deepak Chopra is at it again. In this week’s piece, Genes and Hornet’s Nests, he goes on about the delusion of geneticists.
Despite the vehement objectors, I still believe that geneticists are far from understanding how DNA replicates, because the word “how” connotes more than observing a molecular process of chemical binding. Most explanations of DNA–not just its ability to replicate but many other factors–are post facto. We observe the process, therefore we think we understand its purpose. This is like observing the brain of someone who is depressed without knowing that the person had a child die that day. We cannot explain grief as a brain function. It is a human response that uses a physical organ to mediate it, just as an artist uses his hand to mediate his artistic vision. A chemical analysis of Michelangelo’s hands can’t explain the Pieta.
Maybe because I’m a non-believer or a person with her head in the sand, I don’t believe that DNA replication or the other actions of genes need to have “a purpose.” The fact that they exist and interact in a prescribed fashion as dictated by the laws of physics, chemistry, and biology is enough for me. I don’t need to believe that there is more. Otherwise, I’d never sleep at night for wondering why we bother about anything at all. I’m just a simple, live-in-the-moment kind of gal.
Is Deepak Chopra creating health or creating confusion?
PS Scroll down to read Norm Doering’s great comment (excerpt):
…when Chopra says we believe: “3. Genes are fixed, deterministic agents that do not respond to the immediate environment, bodily functions, or thoughts.”
It’s either a blatant lie and straw man argument or a sign of utter ignorance. This is because we do NOT assume that genes do not respond to the immediate environment.
In fact, we know that they DO respond to the immediate environment. That’s why people get cancer. That’s why stem cells can become either nerve cells, skin cells or bone cells when they have the same DNA.
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Check out what others are saying about this post...[...] Deepak Chopra is still stuck on genes. This time, I agree with him that there is still much we don’t understand about the mind and consciousness along with other “mysterious” elements of human existence. But I still find his logic incredibly weak. If you can stand the spinning room, go have a look at The Trouble With Genes (Part 2). [...]
[...] Good grief! Deepak Chopra just won’t shut-up about genes. For your reading (dis)pleasure: The Trouble with Genes (Part 3). This time he’s wrestling with the concept of intelligence and forcing it to suit his needs. [...]