Science, Magic, Religion and How I Got to the Age of Personalized Genomics
September 17, 2009 8:30 PM
Filed Under: Mikenomics
Science, Magic, and Religion.
Eastern Religion.
Religious Studies 101.
Hey, I was growing up in the sixties and by the time I hit the University of Calgary in the seventies I wanted to learn more about different philosophies and I certainly wasn't sold on what science was teaching me. I was not doing well in Organic Chem either, and you know what that can do to a degree, so I decided to turn to some courses that held ( at the time ) some deeper meaning and dug down into things the sixties generation touched but never fully understood. Those 3 courses were part of that path.
And here I am at a conference on personal genomics and suddenly the crumbs put down to mark the path are showing up again.
This evening I was talking with the Chief Scientific Officer for Genome B.C. Pierre Meulien, when we were joined by Harold Coward who knew Pierre and was obviously connected to Genome B.C. in some way.
I looked at him closely, checked his name tag and finally asked.
"Are you the Harold Coward who taught Religious Studies at the University of Calgary?"
Score one for Mikenomics - because it was. And in an odd kind of way he may have had a role in me ending up at a conference like this and being one of Genome Alberta's representatives at discussions about GE3LS (Genetics and its Ethical, Economic, Environmental, Legal, and Societal Aspects ).
What those courses taught me was an appreciation for differences across cultures, across religions, and across time. They gave me some insight into what appeared to be magic to people at one time but is now accepted science, and the role religion plays in viewing science and magic. It is an important point to consider as we look at the modern era of genomics, evaluate what we really understand about the human genome and where it could take us, because not everyone is going to want to come along for the ride.
Those courses also gave me a deeper appreciation for the interplay of science and culture over time.
Donald Chalmers from the University of Tasmania had questioned earlier in the day whether yesterday's research ethics fit the modern Genomics Era. He quoted Joseph Brodsky's 1987 Nobel Lecture in Literature, "The philosophy of the state, its ethics — not to mention its aesthetics — are always yesterday. Language and literature are always today, and often — particularly in the case where a political system is orthodox — they may even constitute tomorrow. "
Harold Coward and his Institute for Humanities at the University of Calgary helped me get past the accepted views of ethics, appreciate that societal norms are always in a state of flux, and to realise that if we are to see where society is going, we have to look into language, literature and popular culture. The modern genomics era absolutely needs strong scientific rigor but it could also use a hit from science fiction, the internet, chat rooms, and popular media.
Thank you Dr. Coward for unwittingly laying some groundwork that is paying off to this day.
And in case you were wondering exactly what he was doing at the conference he is a past Genome BC board member and Chair of the Genomics, Society and Ethics Advisory Committee. He is also a professor of history, founding Director and Fellow of the Centre for Studies in Religion and Society at the University of Victoria and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. For the past 25 years he has led
teams of scientists, social scientists and humanists researching major challenges facing society.
Not bad for a guy who used to teach a bunch of hippies all about Eastern Religions.
Posted by Mike Spear at September 17, 2009 8:30 PM