NIno Scalia and Justified True Belief: A Puzzle
Elon James White watches Nino Scalia confess that he is unable to believe in molecular biology:
Justice Scalia: Not Down with Science: Justice Scalia’s concurrence in the case on patenting genetic material, Association for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics, Inc., definitely stood out. Apparently, Scalia doesn’t believe in the science behind the case.
I join the judgment of the Court, and all of its opinion except Part I–A and some portions of the rest of the opinion going into fine details of molecular biology. I am unable to affirm those details on my own knowledge or even my own belief….
Here’s a sample from Part I-A that he doesn’t “believe” in:
Genes form the basis for hereditary traits in living organisms. See generally Association for Molecular Pathology v. United States Patent and Trademark Office, 702 F. Supp. 2d 181, 192–211 (SDNY 2010). The human genome consists of approximately 22,000 genes packed into 23 pairs of chromosomes. Each gene is encoded as DNA, which takes the shape of the familiar “double helix” that Doctors James Watson and Francis Crick first described in 1953. Each “cross-bar” in the DNA helix consists of two chemically joined nucleotides.…
The text goes on just like that: simply summarizing molecular biology. That’s right, Justice Scalia can’t confirm these details with his knowledge (valid) or his belief (um, what?).
Can't he hire a clerk to teach him molecular biology?
