Oedipus Rex in the Genomic Era: Human Behaviour, Law and Society

241 Pages·2021·4.17 MB·English

by  Yulia Kovas, Fatos Selita

Oedipus Rex in the
Genomic Era
Human Behaviour, Law and Society
Yulia Kovas · Fatos Selita
Oedipus Rex in the Genomic Era
·
Yulia Kovas Fatos Selita
Oedipus Rex
in the Genomic Era
Human Behaviour, Law and Society
Yulia Kovas Fatos Selita
School of Professional Studies, Barrister (England andWales); Attorney
Science &Technology and Counselor at Law (NY State)
Goldsmiths University of London Goldsmiths University of London
London, UK London, UK
ISBN 978-1-349-96047-7 ISBN 978-1-349-96048-4 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-96048-4
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Acknowledgement
We dedicate this book to our parents.
This book is a product of years of wonderment, bits of sabbatical,
two lockdowns at the time of the pandemic and of infinite pleasure of
working together. An inexhaustible source of inspiration for this work
havebeenourstudents,whopropelknowledgebytheirenthusiasm,their
questions and passion for knowledge.
WearegratefultoRobertChapman,SashaMurrayandAmandaSelita
for being the first readers and evaluators of our book. Your reassurance
and insightful comments have given us an impetus to finally complete
the work! A special thanks goes to Della Couling. It is an honour for us
tohavereceivedyoureditsonourmanuscript.Weareinaweofyoureye
for detail, your wisdom, wit and energy.
v
Contents
1 A Journey into the Genomic Era: SophoclesWill Be
Our Guide… 1
Oedipus Rex and Behavioural Genetics 2
The Journey 4
Plot of theThreeTheban Plays 7
Characters of theTheban Plays (andTheir Equivalents
in the Genomic Era) 11
A Note on Citations andTranslations 12
List ofTranslations Used inThis Book 13
References 15
2 Genes, Environments and LifeTrajectories 17
Familiality 20
Lineage 29
Chance, Genes and Crossroads 35
References 38
vii
viii Contents
3 FreeWill in the Genomic Era 45
The FreeWill Confusion, Illusion and Delusion 46
FreeWill and Determinism 48
FreeWill and Errors of Attribution 53
FreeWill and Punishment 56
TheWill of the Self 64
References 67
4 Prophesied Future and Redefined Past in the Genomic
Era 73
Destiny, Fatalism and Predetermination 74
Bringing Fate About 76
The New Pantheon of Gods in the Genomic Era 78
Prediction in the DigitalWorld 79
Oracles and Prophecy in the Genomic Era 83
The Power of Expectation 88
The Dangers of Misinterpretation 90
Redefining the Past 95
Support in Dealing with ‘Prophecies’ 96
‘Quantum’ Prophecy 98
References 101
5 DNA:The GreatestText of All 111
Length ofText and Depth of Meaning 112
Genes vs. Genome 118
Lost and Found inTranslation 120
Alternative Splicing 122
Beyond Genes 126
Variation 128
Expression: Reading theText 136
The Age of theText 141
Particles, Atoms and Elements 141
Life Emerging from Non-Organic Universal Debris
and Star Dust 143
DNA—The Connector of All Species 145
Editing theText 147
Storing New Meanings 149
Contents ix
Randomness, Feedback and the Absence of a Plan 154
Oedipus Rex in the Genomic Era 157
Epilogue 159
Chorus (Citizens of the Genomic Era) 160
Afterword 161
References 162
Glossary 173
Index 231
List of Figures
Fig. 1.1 Oedipus’ life journey. Oedipus’s life journey starts
in Thebes, from which he is taken as a baby
to Corinth where he grows up. In Delphi, the prophecy
from the Oracle ‘derails’ his life. After the eventful
journey he arrives in his birthplace—Thebes. In
the sequel to Oedipus Rex, Oedipus ends his days
in Colonus—the suburb of Athens (Source British
Library Flickr) 14
Fig. 5.1 DNA structure 114
xi
List of Boxes
Box 5.1 DNA Structure 114
Box 5.2 Genome size 116
Box 5.3 Transcription 121
Box 5.4 Mitosis 132
Box 5.5 Methylation 138
Box 5.6 Data storage 150
xiii