EDST 391 Ethics & the Human Genome
Name:
Date:
"Calendar"
Assignment for
Day 9
To what extent
does the human genome define "humanness"?
Readings:
Thinking
assignment:
- Background: Imagine you are an anthropologist from another
planet
(who
reads English). You are to report back on these strange creatures,
humans, specifically on what it
means to be "human." Your helpful human informant, Prof. X, suggests that
you
start by reading a famous passage from an ancient writer on the human
condition,
Sophocles, and
several chapters from a book on the human genome by a contemporary
journalist (that is, today's
readings!).
- Task: Your colleagues back home will be calling you Tuesday to
learn what your have gleaned from these
authors. For instance, they might want to know what each author says
about the
essence of "humanness?" What does this human creature look like
through
these writers'
eyes? Do they describe, admire,
or honor its humanness in the same way?