Bite Me Revisited
An article in the Winston-Salem Journal today on a study entitled Molecular Genetic Study of Sexual Orientation being conducted at Evanston Northwestern Healthcare Research Institute, Northwestern University, University of Chicago, and University of Illinois at Chicago reminded of my recent blog entitled "Bite Me" regarding the effects of genetics on human behavior.
The lead investigator, Dr. Alan R. Sanders, writes "Sexual orientation is a fundamental trait of great scientific interest. Understanding the origins of sexual orientation will enable us to learn a great deal about sexual motivation, sexual identity, gender identity and sex differences. Our primary goals are scientific, but we also are hopeful for greater societal understanding."
A pair of homosexual brothers, Julio and Mauricio Caberera, who are participating in the study are reported by the newspaper as hoping that the findings will silence critics who say that homosexuality is an immoral choice.
Well, bite me, Julio and Mauricio. The study hasn't even begun and you are already mixing apples and oranges.
If a genetic basis is, indeed, found for homosexual behavior, then those so afflicted are simply behaving as dictated by their genes. They presumably would have no more free will regarding their behavior than do those afflicted with Lesch-Nylan Syndrome with regards to their behavior. That they are homosexuals would be dictated by nature and, as such, they would have no choice at all in the matter.
Now, Julio and Mauricio, comes the hard part. Nature knows neither right nor wrong. Whether a behavior is right or wrong -- moral or immoral -- is determined by the society in which one lives. So, if homosexuality is genetically based and the individual has no free will in the matter, it cannot be an immoral choice. Yet, the behavior in which you are genetically deigned to engage can still be held to be immoral in the society in which you live.
Like it or not, the moral code in the Western World is based around the biblical Ten Commandments and subsequent refinements. Judaism has 613 such mitzvot of which number 103 instructs against homosexual behavior. It derives from Leviticus 18:22 which reads "You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; such a thing is an abomination." Leviticus is, of course, a chapter of the Holy Bible accepted as moral guidance by Christian and Jew alike.
So, what are you to do, Julio and Mauricio? The morals of the society in which you live says your behavior is an abomination. Well, you say, we could simply ignore the admonition and hope for the "greater societal understanding" that Dr. Sanders mentions. Indeed, the homosexual actor, Sir Ian McKellen, goes around tearing the page bearing Leviticus 18:22 from the Gideon bibles he finds in hotels. Or, as in the past, you could clump together in homosexual communities of your own making.
You must, however, be careful of bringing the morality of homosexuality into play because in that regard you will always remain in the minority and should the "greater societal understanding" card not work out in the end, you would then have a genetic marker identifying you as a homosexual for purposes of both secular and religious law. Indeed, the Roman Catholic Church will deny you salvation and the next Adolf Hitler will send you to a concentration camp for extermination.
And, you could do absolutely nothing about it short of a gene transplant.
The lead investigator, Dr. Alan R. Sanders, writes "Sexual orientation is a fundamental trait of great scientific interest. Understanding the origins of sexual orientation will enable us to learn a great deal about sexual motivation, sexual identity, gender identity and sex differences. Our primary goals are scientific, but we also are hopeful for greater societal understanding."
A pair of homosexual brothers, Julio and Mauricio Caberera, who are participating in the study are reported by the newspaper as hoping that the findings will silence critics who say that homosexuality is an immoral choice.
Well, bite me, Julio and Mauricio. The study hasn't even begun and you are already mixing apples and oranges.
If a genetic basis is, indeed, found for homosexual behavior, then those so afflicted are simply behaving as dictated by their genes. They presumably would have no more free will regarding their behavior than do those afflicted with Lesch-Nylan Syndrome with regards to their behavior. That they are homosexuals would be dictated by nature and, as such, they would have no choice at all in the matter.
Now, Julio and Mauricio, comes the hard part. Nature knows neither right nor wrong. Whether a behavior is right or wrong -- moral or immoral -- is determined by the society in which one lives. So, if homosexuality is genetically based and the individual has no free will in the matter, it cannot be an immoral choice. Yet, the behavior in which you are genetically deigned to engage can still be held to be immoral in the society in which you live.
Like it or not, the moral code in the Western World is based around the biblical Ten Commandments and subsequent refinements. Judaism has 613 such mitzvot of which number 103 instructs against homosexual behavior. It derives from Leviticus 18:22 which reads "You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; such a thing is an abomination." Leviticus is, of course, a chapter of the Holy Bible accepted as moral guidance by Christian and Jew alike.
So, what are you to do, Julio and Mauricio? The morals of the society in which you live says your behavior is an abomination. Well, you say, we could simply ignore the admonition and hope for the "greater societal understanding" that Dr. Sanders mentions. Indeed, the homosexual actor, Sir Ian McKellen, goes around tearing the page bearing Leviticus 18:22 from the Gideon bibles he finds in hotels. Or, as in the past, you could clump together in homosexual communities of your own making.
You must, however, be careful of bringing the morality of homosexuality into play because in that regard you will always remain in the minority and should the "greater societal understanding" card not work out in the end, you would then have a genetic marker identifying you as a homosexual for purposes of both secular and religious law. Indeed, the Roman Catholic Church will deny you salvation and the next Adolf Hitler will send you to a concentration camp for extermination.
And, you could do absolutely nothing about it short of a gene transplant.
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