The God Gene - Part One
Near the very beginning of a Belief.net article about the
God gene, Dr. Hammer, a molecular biologist by
trade, is talking about an inherited capacity for spirituality.
The very first problem that I see with this idea is that it
seeks to reduce spirituality down to material or physical
phenomena. Even if one were to assume, for the sake of
argument, that there is a genetic component to spirituality,
why should one suppose this component is causal or essential
in nature, as opposed to being merely modulatory,
in some way?
For example, Dr. Hammer discusses the gene VMAT2,
which stands for 'vesicular monoamine transporter no. 2.
There are a number of different kinds of neurotransmitters
associated with monoamine production - among them are:
serotonin, norepenephrine, and dopamine. ... all of which
are mentioned in the article.
Many of these kind of neurotransmitters play a role
in coloring mood, but, some of them also are implicated
in psychotic symptoms. Thus, one theory of schizophrenia
is that some of the symptoms such as hallucinations and
problematic affect (either too much, or too little) may be
the result of an excess of dopamine. When neuroleptic
drugs are given, these drugs affect the quantity and flow
of the dopamine neurotransmitter.
What is not explained in such theories is how the chemical
imbalance came to be in the first place. Excess dopamine
production is the result of something else causing such a
anomaly within brain biochemistry, and, as such, it does
not represent the cause of schizophrenia.
Staying, for the moment, with schizophrenia, there have
been a number of genetic studies done in conjunction with
this disorder. What they have found can be summarized
in the following way:
(1) if you have a sibling or parent with schizophrenia, your
chances are one in ten of also having schizophrenia;
(2) among identical twins, irrespective of whether they are
raised together or apart, if one of them suffers from
schizophrenia, the likelihood that the other twin will also
suffer from schizophrenia is one in two;
(3) if one has an identical twin with schizophrenia, the odds
are six in ten that the co-twin will be similarly afflicted if
they shared a single placenta while in the uterus;
(4) adopted children who are raised by someone who develops
schizophrenia very rarely develop schizophrenia.
Taken together, the foregoing suggests there may be a
strong genetic component to the etiology of schizophrenia.
However, item 2 and 3 both indicate that genetics is
not enough to explain the presence of schizophreina -
for, if this were the case, then, 100 % of the co-twins
would be schizophrenic if the other twin suffered from
schizophrenia, and this is not the case.
Item (3) above indicates that a cause of schizophrenia
may have something to do with what is trasnmitted via
the placenta during pregnacy. One suggestion in this
regard involves an, as yet, unidentified viral agent
which is passed from mother to child (children) via the
placenta.
Consequently, although genetics may predispose us
to certain conditions, so does life. To say that genetic
factors are correlated with psychotic disorders and/or
spirituality says absolutely nothing about the causal
mechanism.
Identical twins share precisely the same genetic
structure. Yet, not all twins will manifest the same
mental, emotional, or medical condition, and, therefore,
the answer - even in cases as well-researched as
schizophrenia - tend to be quite complicated and
messy.
Spirituality is more than mood. It encompasses
knowledge, understanding, intention, character,
identity, and behavior as well. Are we to suppose
that VMAT2 - the so-called 'God gene' is responsible
for these other dimensions of being as well?
The human brain consists of billions of neurons, and
these billions of neurons are interconnected by
billions of more synaptic junctions which constitute
the microscopic spaces where neurons exchange
information in the form of neurotransmitters. What
neurotransmitters are to be released from these axon
terminals, and in what quantities, and when, and for how
long, and whether or not such neurotransmitters are to
be reabsorbed (called re-uptake) back into a neuron,
and so on is an enormously complicated business
which scientists are not even remotely close to
resolving into a clear picture.
The flow of neurotransmitters is a function, in part, of
the summation histories involving the firings of billions
and billions of action potentials within the neurons of the
brain. When certain threshold levels are reached,
neurons fire, and when such levels are not attained,
then, the firing of neurons is inhibited (no one knows,
yet, how these threshold values come to be established
for different neurons).
Then, one can really throw a monkey wrench into the
grand theorizing which goes on concerning the
biochemistry of the brain when one considers the
work of John Lorber who, among other things, studied
people suffering from hydrocephalus which arises
when the ventricles in the brain become blocked in
some manner, thereby preventing the flow of
continuous circulation of cerebral-spinal fluid.
Instead, what happens in people with this condition
is that the blocked cerebral-spinal fluid begins to
accumulate within the ventricles of the brain. In time,
the brain begins to be squeezed against the skull,
and if this goes on long enough, the brain is almost
compressed out of existence, with just a thin millimeter-
thick residue left lining the interior of the skull ... the
rest of the skull cavity is filled with cerebral-spinal
fluid.
Usually, these individuals suffer from profound mental
retardation. However, Lorber came across a few people
who, despite having no brains, functioned quite well -
in fact, one of them was an honors graduate in
mathematics from Cambridge University in England.
Articles about this were written back in the 1970s-1980s
with such titles as: "Do you need a brain to think?", and
they appeared in such prestigious journals as Science.
So, even if one were to come up with a theory which
captured the entire neurochemistry and physiology of
the brain so that one could trace from beginning to end
how different thoughts, emotions, and behaviors came
into existence, one would still have to account for the
fact that such theories don't apply to those people who,
seemingly, function quite well without the complexities
of action potentials, neurotransmitters, and synaptic
junctions.
Dr. Hammer talks about the implications of VMAT2 for
the idea of spirituality. Taken out of context, this
fact seems interesting. Placed in context, and one
has to wonder just what it is that he thinks he has
discovered with respect to the issue of human beings
and spirituality.
The good doctor speaks about the use of a "self-transcendence
scale" He describes how the scale actually consists of three
sub-scales.
He says that this scale seeks to measure a person's
sense of at oneness with the universe in a way that is
independent of religious beliefs. Dr. Hammer goes on
to say that the self-transcendence scale actually consists
of three different sub-scales.
One of these sub-scales is known as: self-forgetfulness
which purports to be an index of an individual's capacity
to "completely lose themselves in what they’re doing",
both with respect to everyday activities, as well as in
relation to spiritual activities. According to Dr. Hammer,
those who score high on self-transcendence tend to be
less preoccupied with themselves while being more
focused on everything outside of themselves. In addition,
those who score high on the self-transcendence scales
"see the connections to things".
Aside from glossing over precisely what "connections"
are being seen by such self-transcendent ones, and
whether, or not, there is any relation between such
connections and the 'truth' or reality of things, one
might also question the whole manner in which self-
forgetfulness is being characterized. For example,
why should one accept the idea that someone who
has forgotten oneself should automatically be more
focused on everything outside of oneself?
The condition of fana is not a matter of being more
aware of either oneself or the external world. Rather,
the condition of fana has been characterized as being
such that the presence of Divinity is so overwhelming
that both one's sense of self and the external
world are eclipsed ... there is only awareness of
Divinity, nothing else.
One also wonders what sort of set of neurotransmitter
transmissions via VMAT2 - the God gene - give expression
to the condition of fana? Perhaps, just as one can speak
about a television's capacity to receive signals without
confusing that capacity with the signals, which are quite
independent of the television set, being interpreted by
the television set, so too, maybe, while VMAT2 affects -
to some degree - the quality of the signal being received,
it does not cause the signal ... and, more importantly,
the existence of VMAT2 does not preclude the possibility
that many, many, many other factors - both material
and non-material - may also be affecting the experience
of the 'signal' to which the Divine gives arise.
According to Dr. Hammer, "The best interpretation is that
the monoamines are affecting higher consciousness. By
higher consciousness, I mean the way that we perceive
the world around us and our connection to it."
"Affecting higher consciousness" is not the same thing as
causing higher consciousness. One can, if one wishes,
permit VMAT2 to have a modulating role without, in
any way, supposing that it plays a central or causal role
with respect to spirituality.
Eating too much, or sleeping too much, or being
with people too much, or being too self-involved
can all affect higher consciousness. This is why there
is something called "suluk" (spiritual journeying)
which encompasses, among other things, a discipline
for trying to suppress the problematic modulating effects
on higher consciousness which such activities have.
However, trying to reduce this all down to the activities
of the VMAT2 gene seems ultra-reductionistic and with
limited heuristic value as far as coming to understand
the essential nature of spirituality is concerned.
According to Dr. Hammer, a second component of the
'self-transcendence" index is suppose to involve a psychic
element known as "transpersonal identification." This is
said to refer to having a sense of unity with the rest of
the universe.
Leaving aside, for the moment, the question of why one
should refer to this sense of oneness with the universe
as a psychic element - thereby confusing the occult with
the mystical - let us assume that I have such a feeling. Or,
let us suppose that I answer all the items on the 'self-
transcendence' index which suggests that I have a sense
of being one with the rest of the universe.
Let's ask a question about this. What is the reality of
my sense of things?
By this, I am not asking whether, or not, we are at
one with the rest of the universe because the basic
truth is that there is only Divinity and, therefore, it
is impossible to be other than one with the universe.
Instead, the aforementioned question is about
whether or not I have realized the spiritual
station of oneness with the rest of the universe and,
as a result, I am in a position to draw upon the
knowledge, insights, wisdom, discipline, stations,
and behaviors which are made possible by such a
realization.
I am willing to wager that if one were to have a
billion people undergo the self-transcendence index
talked about by Dr. Hammer, then, at best, not
more than a very few might actually be able to
walk the walk and not just talk the talk. Furthermore,
it strikes me that someone who was actually realized
would not be much interested in taking such a
test in the first place.
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