Argumenta Lecture: Prof. Scott F. Gilbert

Programme

10.00 Coffee service

10.15 Argumenta lecture: Prof. Scott Gilbert, ”Pseudo-embryology: The contest between myth and science in human development.”

Abstract:

The public is being told several myths about human reproduction and development that pretend to be science. The first myth is that all biologists agree that fertilization is when a separate human life begins. In reality, different groups of scientists have proposed that a separate human life begins at  fertilization (acquisition of genome), gastrulation (acquisition of biological identity), EEG patterning (acquisition of the neural requisites for cognition and pain), viability and birth (the anatomical and physiological separation from the mother). And some scientists don’t see this as a biological question.  The second myth is that fertilization is solely a story of sperm performance. Indeed, the popular view of fertilization is patterned by the classical ”myth of the hero.” The scientific story of fertilization is one of remarkable interactions between the gametes and between the gametes and the female reproductive system. The third myth is that DNA is our ”soul,” our essence, and that our physical and behavioral phenotypes are derived almost exclusively from our genome. This has become a very popular view (as in Dawkins’ writings), although the science behind it is very weak, and there are numerous counterexamples. These three myths inform and give support for each other’s misinformation. The developmental biology concerning fertilization, phenotype production, and birth should be publicized more frequently to prevent the misuse of science for ideological and political concerns.

You can learn more about Professor Gilbert from the following links:

Scott Gilbert’s Profile

Interview with Scott Gilbert