Science was getting ready for his dialogue with the Lord. He had some real paradoxes that he needed to address right away. Science decided that he should perhaps prepare some notes on his questions before it was time for the next meeting. “Ok! Let me see… The Lord had said that evolution was not merely in physical and chemical ways but also in consciousness – the way new species perceive existence. In His words ‘consciousness is not something that happens inside man but something he can achieve – it is more like dancing than it is a digestive process!’ – now what did that mean?” Science began strolling down his memory’s lane on all the discoveries of his children. Yes! He had already told the Lord about the French naturalist Jean Baptiste de Lamarck who had suggested that change was driven by living things themselves as they strove to perfect their way of life. But as features acquired during an individual’s lifetime are not passed on to its offspring, Lamarckism took a back seat to Mendalism. Ah! Yes! He would have to start by telling the Lord about Gregor Mendel and his discoveries. Science could imagine walking along the riverside with the Lord and explaining…

Science: The essence of heredity is the reproduction of the carriers of genetic information, the genes. As a result, biological organisms, including human beings, reproduce organisms resembling themselves; human children are always recognisably human. However, since the offspring of sexually reproducing organisms receive varying combinations of genetic material from both parents, no two offspring (except for identical twins) have exactly the same genotype – that is, no two individuals, not even siblings (except identical twins) has the same genes from both parents. This genetic diversity is always modified by an equally diverse environment. So the resulting phenotype, the features that actually develop, is never exactly the same even among identical twins.

God: I think you need to translate that into common language, my child! What do you mean by heredity?

Science: Ah yes my Lord! We inherit ‘traits’ from our parents. The passing of traits from parents to child is heredity.

God: And what is a trait?

Science: A trait in a notable feature or quality in a person. Each individual has a different combination of traits that makes him unique. There are physical traits like the colour of the eye, hair, features etc. There are behavioural traits which characterises the way one acts – for example the herding instinct of sheep dogs and fetching instincts of retrievers. And there is the predisposition to medical conditions like an increased risk of getting a certain type of disease or mental illness.

God: Hm… your scientists seem to have been working pretty hard to get so far!

Science: Yes my Lord! Gregor Mendel, an Augustinian priest, discovered from his experiments with pea plants between 1857 and 1863 that heredity is transmitted through factors (now called genes) that do not blend but segregate. Further parents transmit only one-half of the genes they have to each child – that is each child gets half its genes from the mother and half from the father. The parents transmit different sets of genes to different children. Therefore, although brothers and sisters receive their heredities from the same parents, they do not receive the same heredities (an exception is identical twins). Mendel thus showed that, in sexually reproducing organisms, humans included, every individual has a unique hereditary endowment.

God: So you believe that each organism has a pre-defined role with no right to freewill?

Science: Well! Our understanding does not end there my Lord! We realise that the instructions encoded in our genes define our traits. But we also believe that environmental influences are also important in shaping our lives. As I said the genotype or genetic inheritance is balanced by the phenotype or environmental influence. Curt Stern compares the potential stretch of a rubber band to the genetic legacy, and the pressure or pull exerted to actually stretch the rubber band, to the influence of the environment.

God: How do you explain to man that environment can change his genetic nature?

Science: Genes determine the natural hair colour and yet sunlight and chemicals can change them anytime! Retrievers have been trained to play dead instead of retrieving the ball. A person with a medical susceptibility for heart ailment can reduce his risk with the right exercise and diet.

God: So have you convinced man that he can overcome his genetic makeup?

Science: The debate of Nature versus Nurture goes on without apparent conclusions, my Lord. The genetic endowments of nature need environmental support to nurture any form of life. If Gregor Mendel’s genetic theories validate the presence of creative genes man hasn’t much to be proud of, for he has not chosen his genetic blue prints. But we also don’t know if we can transfer ‘acquired characteristics’ through genetic inheritance. Epi-genetics that has partly revitalised the old Lamark idea of the hereditary nature of acquired characteristics is still nascent.

God: Hm… If criminals decide that it is their genes driving them to be as such, how would man build a society? What possible guarantee does the future of humanity and living things as a whole hold?

Even as Science was deeply engrossed in his own imaginary dialogue rehearsal, he felt the presence of the Lord –

God: Hey! What is this I see at Melbourne! Your scientists have begun to perform evolution rather than just study it!

Science: Yes my Lord! Ever since Louise Joy Brown the first test-tube child was born in 1978, Scientists have begun researching on ways to have a certain amount of control over reproduction. Since 1990, Pre-implantation Diagnosis (PID) has gained acceptance and grown rapidly. Embryos are created outside the mother’s body and tested for potential hereditary diseases before being implanted in the mother’s womb thus enabling positive selection (rather than natural selection). In other words – human breeding! Their contention is that they cannot deny their offspring the best possible genetic structure. However eugenics has its critics who are appalled at scientists trying to play God!

God: That may result in children with able bodies. But how would man address the need for noble hearts?

Science: American psychologist John Watson, has said: Give me a dozen healthy infants, well-formed, and my own specified world to bring them up in and I’ll guarantee to take any one at random and train him to become any type of specialist I might select…regardless of his talents, penchants, tendencies, abilities, vocations and race of his ancestors. While physical traits and pre-disposition to medical conditions may have a greater leaning towards nature or genes, behavioural science believes that human behaviours can be conditioned – just like the animals! If environment didn’t play a part in determining an individual’s traits and behaviours, then identical twins should, theoretically, be exactly the same in all respects, even if reared apart. But a number of studies show that they are never exactly alike, even though they are remarkably similar in most respects.

God: My child! Its time man understood that the link between a gene and behaviour is not the same as cause and effect. While a gene may increase the likelihood that man will behave in a particular way, it does not make people do things – which means, he still gets to choose who he will be when he grows up. If Mendel’s genetic theory and eugenics elates man’s ego as ‘pure blood’, Darwin’s theories on evolution should remind him that all men came from the same ape! It is reckless freedom to rejoice genetic blessings without the responsibility of acquiring those desirable traits.

Even as Science stood silently in the Lord’s presence he heard His whisper –

God: O my dear! Remind man ‘Growing old is mandatory but growing up is a choice’!

Written by Gita Krishna Raj  |  Published in infinithoughts in June 2009

When Science met God… |  Segment Two: From the Apes  |  Chapter Two: Nature or Nurture