(N.1) The information for the development,
functioning, growth and reproduction of all known living things is
carried by a chemical polymer known as deoxyribonucleic acid or, more commonly,
DNA. While DNA does not carry any information used in the actions of
the organism it does carry information that results in the living
thing have a predisposition to certain actions as a result of the
material cellular structures dictated by it. An example is reflect
actions for which information for development of the system of neural
cells enabling reflex actions was provided by DNA. The same is true for
the neural system that is our brain.
(N.2) Our DNA provides the information for the differentiation
of cells into neural cells and their physical configuration as
the brain, but provides none of the information the brain
uses in any of the mental process that it performs.
Those are performed entirely by the physical brain following
the laws of nature on the entire material brain
including not only the neural cells but also the chemistry of all other material
parts of the brain, some of which is used to transmit information
apart from the neural cells.
(N.3) Human DNA has approximately 220 million bits of information
encoded in it but none of this information is use in any
mental processes resulting in subjective phenomenon of
the mind including consciousness, awareness, qualia,
thought, reasoning and decision making, all of which
derive from information acquired in the form of sensory
data. That is, all human actions are derived from information acquired
from the outside world and none from information
encoded in the material entity. Accordingly, no knowledge
is derived from genetic information encoded in DNA.
(N.4) On the atomic level, DNA is what separates corporeal things like humans and ants from
incorporeally things like rocks and stars. It provides the information to sustain the process
of life and reproduction of living things. It also fosters the multiple degrees of free of biological determinism
that enabled the estimated 9 million different species of living things to come into existence from a single
chemical entityin time past. In short, genetics is what has enabled humans to become humans.
(N) No human actions are derived from the genetic information encoded in DNA. However, predisposition towards certain human actions may result from the form and function of the material entity of unus as dictated by the genetic information encoded in DNA. All human actions derive entirely from information obtained from the outside world. No human knowledge is derived from DNA but all living things, including humans, are derived from information encoded in it.