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Review - GenomeThe Autobiography of a Species in 23 Chapters by Matt Ridley Harpercollins, 2000 Review by Maria Trochatos Oct 16th 2001 (Volume 5, Issue 42) Matt Ridley's Genome: The Autobiography of a Species in 23
Chapters is a fascinating read - you won't be able to put
this book down. This is due partly to Ridley's engaging and accessible
style, but also to the material he discusses -- the human genome,
which contains the genetic history of our species. Ridley's presentation
of the material is highly informative and commendably clear, given
both the complexity and volume of material covered.
This book is primarily for the lay reader. Ridley begins with
a 'primer' explaining how genes work. With this basic understanding
in hand, the reader is equipped to follow the more detailed discussions
presented in each chapter. Ridley focuses each short, easily digestible
chapter on one particularly interesting gene within each chromosome.
He admits that this only permits 'a whistle-stop tour of some
of the more interesting sites in the genome' (p. 6), but this
is more than enough to convey the significance, excitement, and
potential (benefits and risks) of this knowledge.
If Genome were a movie, it'd have everything -- history,
social commentary, medical drama, sex, mystery, politics, and
even philosophy. In the early chapters, Ridley discusses the basis
of all life on earth (DNA), the evolution of our species (traceable
in the genome), and the principles of genetic inheritance. There
is also a fascinating look at the correlation of genetics and
linguistics. The genome carries traces of past human migrations
(the impact of different environments), and this seems to correlate
with linguistic data tracing these same migrations as they are
highlighted in the taxonomy of modern-day languages.
There are chapters on the impact of non-genetic influences (culture,
environment) on our genes, and the pleiotropic (i.e. multiple
effects of multiple genes) nature of genes. There is discussion
of the interplay of nature and nurture effects on IQ (both matter),
and the role of genes in language acquisition. Via a discussion
of the role of cortisol in the body, which is triggered by stress,
Ridley demonstrates the interaction of genes with brains and bodies
and the outside world: things outside us can alter the way our
genes are expressed.
There is a chapter about how genetic variability is a response
to exposure to infectious diseases in our evolutionary past, and
another about the fatalistic nature of some genetic disorders
(e.g. the incurable Huntington's chorea). In the chapter about
personality, we see how various neurotransmitters may be implicated
in individual personality differences (e.g. in extreme cases,
too much dopamine causes schizophrenia, too little causes Parkinson's
disease). The chapter on memory is actually about learning, behavior
modified by experience. Memory/learning seems to involve the tightening
of connections between synapses, with particular genes involved
in this process (even in simple creatures like sea slugs, this
occurs via habituation, sensitization and associative learning).
Sex also features. There is a chapter on sexual antagonism (at
a genetic level, evolutionary 'competition' between the X and
Y chromosomes) and its expression in sexual selection, as well
as the possible genetic contributions to homosexuality. Another
chapter is about the relative contributions of mother and father
to offspring. Active genes carry either a maternal or paternal
'imprint'; one of them will be imprinted and switched on, and
the other switched off. In embryos of placental animals, for example,
paternal genes make the placenta; maternal genes make the brain
and head. Maternally imprinted genes build the forebrain, and
paternally imprinted genes build the hypothalamus and base of
the brain.
There is a chapter about 'selfish' genes, excellent self-replicators
which are parasitic on the genome itself, whose remnants are found
in our 'junk' DNA (genes that have been suppressed, no longer
active in our genome). Interestingly, junk DNA is the basis of
genetic fingerprinting. One chapter explains why our cells (and,
consequently, we) age and die. (It's all to do with a protein
called 'telomerase' - most of the genes for producing it get switched
off in the embryo, in effect setting off a stopwatch for life
expectancy.) Another explains the role of homeotic 'developmental
genes', which systematically govern physical development from
embryo-hood onwards. The chapter titled 'Death' is about cancer.
In all creatures unneeded cells are designed to stop dividing
and die, according to a precise protocol. Cancer arises from a
malfunction in our tumor-suppressor genes - we need genes to encourage
cells to grow, for normal development, but when they don't stop
growing/dividing, they become cancerous.
The more contentious chapters concern the genetic engineering
of foodstuffs and genetic manipulation for the treatment of diseases
such as cancer, genetic screening, and eugenics. One chapter specifically
looks at the events leading to the discovery of the causes of
Creutzfeldt-Jakob ('mad cow') disease, and the British government's
response to the problem. In the final chapter, 'Free Will', Ridley
discusses whether, given this vast genetic knowledge, we can still
believe that we act freely.
While this is a small book, its scope is wide. It's not really
just about genes. It does cover the latest discoveries about the
human genome, but it also presents a discussion of the impact
of this knowledge on our daily lives - medically, socially, environmentally,
politically, and ethically. These two domains -- the scientific
and the social -- are inseparable, and Ridley tries to balance
his discussion between them. Ridley's assessment of, and commentary
about, many of the issues arising from this newfound genetic knowledge
is interesting, but I don't think everyone will agree with him.
His own view (which, when I read it, made me feel somewhat uneasy
about what was to follow) appears in the Foreword:
As will be clear from this book, I think knowledge is a blessing,
not a curse. This is especially true in the case of genetic knowledge
It
is true that genetics also brings the threat of new dangers --
unequal insurance premiums, new forms of germ warfare, unanticipated
side effects of genetic engineering -- but most of these are either
easily dealt with or extremely far-fetched. So I cannot subscribe
to the fashionable pessimism about science nor can I warm to the
idea of a world that turns its back on science and the unending
assault on new forms of ignorance. (p. 3).
Ridley is right, this attitude is ever-present in Genome.
He is not shy of giving his opinions about many issues and the
responses to them (particularly political ones). At times I found
this commentary quite irritating. As I read, I had to remind myself
that science and scientific discoveries about the human genome
are good things, but 'good' only with a small 'g'.
Ridley discusses some extremely divisive issues, such as benefits
and risks associated with the genetic engineering of foodstuffs,
genetic screening, and genetic manipulation. His approach is objective
and somewhat dispassionate, but this will not be everyone's approach
to such emotionally-charged issues. Here's a sample of his views:
'Cloning may well happen not because the majority approves, but
because the minority acts. That, after all, was roughly what happened
in the case of test-tube babies. Society never decided to allow
them; it just got used to the idea
' (p. 256-257) I'm not
sure about 'used to'; Down Under, this issue is still a hot potato.
'Genetic screening does not automatically lead to such drastic
solutions as abortion or gene therapy.' (p. 261) No, not automatically;
but people (whether rightly or wrongly) are probably already thinking
about it.
It seems to me that there is much more to be said on these issues.
In the chapter on genetic testing, Ridley does raise questions
regarding ethical issues. Unfortunately, he doesn't adequately
answer them. This is disappointing, because most of the topics
discussed have deeply embedded ethical implications that would
benefit from fuller treatment. Having said that, I acknowledge
that Genome is not meant to be an introductory ethics text.
Some of Ridley's inferences seem too quick and too broad. For
example, from the discussion of genetic sexual antagonism, he
then comments that '[suddenly] it begins to make sense why relations
between the human sexes are such a minefield, and why men have
such vastly different interpretations of what constitutes sexual
harassment from women.' (p. 115). Hmmm. Or, from his discussion
of maternal and paternal imprinting of genes in offspring, he
comments that the 'brain is an organ with innate gender. The evidence
from the genome, from imprinted genes and genes for sex-linked
behaviors, now points to this conclusion' (p. 218). Sex is not
the same concept as gender (but perhaps I'm just biased on this
one because I'm female.)
Nevertheless, Ridley is convincing on other points. I found myself
agreeing with his refutation of some common misconceptions about
genetics, especially the one that 'genes cause diseases' (rather,
it is their malfunction, mutation or absence that is the problem
- among other things). The reader is regularly reminded that 'GENES
ARE NOT THERE TO CAUSE DISEASES'. I found myself intrigued by
the various accounts of the genetic contribution to many aspects
of human life. I experienced many aa-haa moments as I read
Ridley's explanations of the nature of illnesses such as cancer.
I was captivated by the scientific 'detective work' involved in
revealing the causes of disorders such as 'mad cow' disease. I
found myself persuaded by the evidence showing correlations between
genetics, evolution, and linguistics. I was impressed with Ridley's
account of the complex relationship of genes, body and world,
and the idea that genes do not work in isolation from the 'outside
world'.
As a philosopher, the issue that I'm particularly interested in
is free will. I found myself curious about Ridley's response to
this problem, which he does not address until the final chapter.
The paradox of determinism and free will is a long-standing philosophical
question with ethical, social and legal import. The fundamental
problem is this. Commonsense suggests that we have free will,
and are in immediate control of our behavior - hence, we are ultimately
responsible for our behavior. But commonsense (and now science)
also suggests that everything that happens must have a cause -
hence, we are not ultimately responsible for our behavior.
These two intuitions are obviously incompatible.
There are three ways to go here. We can give up free will, and
concede that everything is determined by something else. As Genome
clearly shows, we now know a great deal about the genetic and
other determinants of behavior. However, that we have and make
choices seems to discredit determinism. We might reject determinism
entirely, but this isn't a good move, because if we want to say
that people are responsible for their behavior, that behavior
must be caused (determined) by them. Nor do we want to
say that behavior is undetermined, because undetermined
behavior is random - and this is also incompatible with holding
people responsible. The third, middle-of-the-road approach is
compatibilism, the puzzling idea that we can be both determined
and free. This is Ridley's response:
This interaction of genetic and external influences makes my behavior
unpredictable, but not undetermined. In the gap between those
words lies freedom. We can never escape from determinism, but
we can make a distinction between good determinisms and bad ones
- free ones and unfree ones
Freedom lies in expressing your
own determinism, not somebody else's. It is not the determinism
that makes a difference, but the ownership. If freedom is what
we prefer, then it is preferable to be determined by forces that
originate in ourselves and not in others. (p. 312-313)
Quoting another compatibilist, A. J. Ayer, Ridley suggests that
determined actions involve either force or coercion by another,
or a pathological compulsion of some kind. Where these constraints
are absent, actions are free. Citing chaos theory, Ridley suggests
that human behavior mimics chaotic systems -- neither are random,
but both can be determined yet unpredictable.
Okay, so what does this all mean? What is it to be determined
yet unpredictable? Rather than shed any light on the problem,
this just restates the very paradox we began with in the first
place. What counts as a 'force' originating in ourselves? A genetic
force? We don't have any control over our genes - we just get
them. What does it mean to take 'ownership' of these genetic forces,
and 'express' our own determinism? Who, exactly, takes 'ownership'
and does the 'expressing'? In an earlier chapter, Ridley claims
that 'nobody is in charge
You are not a brain running a body
Nor
are you a body running a genome
Nor are you a genome running
a brain
You are all of these things at once.' (p. 152) However,
everybody 'has a unique and different endogenous nature. A self.'
(p. 313). So how do all the elements that causally or physically
contribute to the makeup of an individual, so carefully described
by Ridley, give rise to a 'self' that can break free from those
very determining forces?
The truth is, like all of us, Ridley already presupposes that
we have free will. As early as chapter five he comments that among
the non-genetic factors that impact our genes, free will is prominent
(p. 66). Ultimately, it seems to be more matter of faith than
of proof. My feeling is that Ridley's treatment of the free will
issue is somewhat superficial. It is more of a consolation
than a solution to the problem. He is playing with words and definitions
to give the impression that there isn't a problem there at all.
But closer scrutiny of his explanation raises more questions than
it answers. How free will is possible, despite genetic and environmental
determinism, remains a mystery. (Well, at least we now know why
the free will problem is a long-standing one.)
Ridley's Genome does some things better than others. However,
since Ridley clearly signposts his own views, it is fairly easy
to set these aside and focus on the true worth of this book, what
the genome reveals about us. I highly recommend this book to anyone
interested in deepening their understanding of the technicalities
of genetics that underlie so many current social issues.
© 2001
Maria Trochatos. All Rights Reserved.
Maria Trochatos is
a philosophy postgraduate student at Macquarie University (Sydney,
Australia). Her general field of interest is philosophy of mind
and cognitive science. Her specific research focuses on folk theories,
and their relation to 'formal' theories of mind, biology and physics.
This review first appeared online Sept 1, 2001 |