Panpsychism (Evolution)

by dhw, Monday, December 17, 2012, 19:40 (4140 days ago) @ David Turell

DAVID: Panpsychism is not at a cellular level, but at an organismal level, if it exists at all.-dhw: How does one distinguish between cellular and organismal, since organisms are composed of cells?-DAVID: I would need to give you a course in basic biology, since you are conjuring up a fantasy. Cells are under tight controls.-You are talking of cell communities that have already taken on a fixed form. But you have not dealt with the crucial subject of innovation, which is the basis of my argument. So let me ask you yet again: do you believe that innovations were caused by (a) God interfering, b) God preprogramming every single innovation into the first forms of life, to be passed down through the billions of generations of billions of species extant and extinct, or c) mechanisms within existing cells/cell communities adapting or innovating in accordance with what was demanded or allowed by the changing environment? If a) and b) seem unfeasible, the initiative for such unprogrammed changes can only come from within existing cells/cell communities themselves. And this applies whether God created the original mechanisms or not. So why is c) more of a fantasy than a) and b)?-dhw: Your distinction [between cellular and organismal] simply means that panpsychism operates at the level of cell communities. That's OK with me.
DAVID: And OK with me.-I should add that by cell communities I don't necessarily mean the organism as a whole. Every organ is also a cell community with a defined role to play, although of course any innovation must be integrated within the whole organism. But the invention of a leg, an eye, a nose, a penis still has to take place at the level of an existing cellular community. Your agreement makes me all the more surprised that you dismiss the idea as biological fantasy.