出刊年月/Date of Publishing

2007.03

所屬卷期/Vol. & No.   第37卷第1期 Vol. 37, No. 1

類型/Type                 研究論文 Research Article

篇名/Title
閱讀生命之書的訊息
Information in The Book of Life

作者/Author
林從一 Chung-I Lin

頁碼/Pagination
pp. 111-181

摘要
概念上的爭議以及經驗上的爭議常常糾雜在一起，忽略經驗事實常引發不必要的概念爭議，概念的混淆亦常引發經驗證據詮釋上的以及研究取徑上的爭議，這些爭議的消解需要仰賴科學知識及哲學分析工具的共同合作。本文的主要目的有三：第一、刻畫並且檢視「『訊息』(information) 概念適不適合用以描述基因」這個爭議的兩造立場及理據。根據語言哲學上的理據，我們論證基因並不適合以訊息這個概念來加以描述。第二、指出「訊息」這個概念在生物學上的運用將引發一種基因決定論，我們稱之為規範的基因決定論 (normative genetic determinism)。第三、論證規範的基因決定論將產生一些規範 (deontic) 理論上不能接受的結果。

Abstract
Whether or not genes contain intentional information is a hotly debated issue. In this paper, I survey and examine the rationales behind both sides of the debate against the background of some well-established theories on the philosophy of language and conclude that, at this point, there is no good reason to support the idea that DNA or other nucleotide sequences contain intentional information. It is also shown that the hypothesis that intentional information may be contained in genes is a severely watered-down version of more typical intentional ascriptions. I proceed to argue that the idea that genes might be endowed with intentional information, even in its minimal sense, quickly leads to a version of genetic determinism, dubbed “normative genetic determinism” Finally, I argue that normative genetic determinism renders our bodies or psychological characteristics some normative status they do not possess.

關鍵字/Key Word
基因、基因訊息、基因決定論
gene, genetic information, genetic determinism

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DOI
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學門分類/Subject
哲學 Philosophy