Can I read The Genetic Gods : Evolution and Belief in Human Affairs on EtoBox?

The Genetic Gods : Evolution and Belief in Human Affairs by John C. Avise is a book available to read on EtoBox.

What is The Genetic Gods : Evolution and Belief in Human Affairs about?

They mastermind our lives, shaping our features, our health, and our behavior, even in the sacrosanct realms of love and sex, religion, aging, and death. Yet we are the ones who house, perpetuate, and give the promise of immortality to these biological agents, our genetic gods. The link between genes and gods is hardly arbitrary, as the distinguished evolutionary geneticist John Avise reveals in this compelling book. In clear, straightforward terms, Avise reviews recent discoveries in molecular biology, evolutionary genetics, and human genetic engineering, and discusses the relevance of these findings to issues of ultimate concern traditionally reserved for mythology, theology, and religious faith.The book explains how the genetic gods figure in our development--not just our metabolism and physiology, but even our emotional disposition, personality, ethical leanings, and, indeed, religiosity. Yet genes are physical rather than metaphysical entities. Having arisen via an amoral evolutionary process--natural selection--genes have no consciousness, no sentient code of conduct, no reflective concern about the consequences of their actions. It is Avise's contention that current genetic

Author

John C. Avise

Publisher

Harvard University, Department of Sanskrit & Indian Studies

Published

1998

Language

EN

ISBN

9780674346253

Subjects

Medical, Science, Biology