John R. Wakeley (Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology)
First-Year Seminar 21I (offered in Fall & again in Spring Term)
Enrollment: Limited to 12 Wednesday, 3-5
FALL CANVAS SITE SPRING CANVAS SITE
Evolutionary genetics traces back to Darwin’s (1859) idea of natural selection. Darwin provided a compelling theory about how species change due to competition in reproducing populations, yet it remains difficult to understand, particularly when applied to ourselves. To enable critical evaluation and discussion of ethical questions and to illustrate connections between science and Buddhism, about one third of this seminar will cover select details of evolutionary genetics. The focus will be on understanding human genetic variation. Buddhism originated with Siddhartha Gautama’s enlightenment around 500 BCE, achieved after six years of intense devotion to the problem of human suffering. He emerged as the Buddha, or the Enlightened One, making the bold statement that suffering within each person results from misunderstanding the nature of one’s self and its relationship to the ever-changing world. He outlined a program of analytical introspection, morality, and meditation, aimed at solving this problem. As with evolutionary genetics, critical evaluation and discussion of Buddhist ideas in this seminar will be fostered by learning the details of what the Buddha taught. Points of overlap between evolutionary genetics and Buddhism emerge in the ways they undermine appearances, deconstructing phenomena which at first appear wholly unbreakable. We will bring our knowledge of Buddhism to bear on end-of-life issues, the use of human embryos in research, and the prospects for human genetic engineering.