Watched a
PBS documentary on DNA and Curing Cancer. Really fascinating and informative. So if I've walked away from it correctly... If I had to sum up in a few lines the current endeavors of the medical genetic field it would be as follows:
With the Genome mapped and many if not all markers of various "cancerous" genes/amino acids?? (don't really know the correct terms) identified we plan to develop drugs that hone in and target those parts of the gene outputting the corrupted instructions, shut them down, and thereby allow the DNA to resume it's functions as it should. The first paradigm of that being Gleevec.
Now before I give my 2 cents of critique I'd like to request the granting of one assumption for the purposes of this argument. That assumption being that God is dead i.e. no God/atheism. This way there shouldn't be any confusing my logic for religion.
Now, as an atheist (for the course of this post) let me express my concerns with the current Medical approach/attitude. Namely, that it gives no thought or concern to the higher sources of causation that caused the cancer genes to go bad in the first place. It assumes that the point of corruption in the gene code is like the first point of origin in time with no history or causations before it.
It fails to ask the begging questions as to why and how do the genes go corrupt in the first place (other than to attribute everything to randomness of events). And so you may think you're solving the problem but in actuality what you're doing is cutting off a venue for the "real problem" to express itself or manifest.
A metaphor: When I worked in the cafeteria giving out servings everyone wanted an extra portion of chicken beyond their allotment per their ticket. Now, what would happen if I obliged to all of them and gave them? Sure initially everyone is happy with their extra portions but in the end the catering service has to shut down because they go broke.
In other words, when dealing with any complex system, you can't "hijack" the system from within a particular middle stage in the process and think there will be no reprecussions of your actions on more macro/higher levels.
So here you plan on hijacking the gene. Shutting down it's "bad output" and forcing it to output what you want... but until you know what was the cause for the corruption in the first place how do you know you're not just creating bigger problems on higher more broader levels? How do you know that the corrupt output wasn't needed for manifesting a different more fundamental problem that now must find a different way for expression? How do you know that the "bad gene instructions" are really bad?
My problem is not at all with the further studying of our genes, nor with the administering of current treatments that do seem to cure the patients with no visible side effects. Wonderful.
My problem is with the attitude of it all; in thinking that this is the end-all; that you can ignore any deeper levels of causality and think you can hold this particular level of reality hostage and have it meet all of your demands as you wish them.
If we must take this path so be it, but let it be done with trepidation and respect, not brash aarogance and exploitation.
It essentially becomes the same issue as the hiding of the Sefer Refuot by Chizkiyahu or the engaging in קבלה מעשית through השבעת שמות למלאכים.
