Cell Memories (Identity)

by dhw, Thursday, July 31, 2014, 20:49 (3554 days ago) @ David Turell

I'd like to leave the “Junk DNA” thread, as the subject matter overlaps, and our Oxford v ENCODE discussion has come to a dead end. I'll concentrate for now solely on one statement in your last post.
 
Dhw: ...the possibility that the cell, as the basis of all life, has an inventive, cooperative, sentient intelligence of its own (perhaps designed by your God) seems to me to offer a far more convincing explanation of the evolutionary bush than random mutations or divine preplanning of every single variation, both of which theories you have rejected. I am still at a loss as to why you are so determined to rubbish the research done by Margulis, Shapiro and others.-DAVID: Because you are stretching Margulis and Shapiro beyond all recognition.
 
We both need to read Shapiro's book, but please note the constant references below to cognitive abilities and decision-making, which we normally apply to human thought processes, such as learning and problem-solving. The second quote specifically refers to novelty. The third quote lists many of the qualities that quite clearly are NOT associated with robots (to which you have compared cells). Please read all four quotes to get the complete picture.-•	Evolution in Revolution-http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3204118/-QUOTE 1: “Shapiro's book starts with characterization of cells relying on sensing and signaling for their cognitive life-or-death decisions in response to environmental stress and for their responses to diverse developmental cues and signals. He is stating clearly that all cells, even prokaryotic ones, rely heavily on sensing and decision-making processes in order to survive and reproduce faithfully in ever changing environment. Shapiro concludes that each cell has to make many signal-dependent life-or-death decisions requiring cognitive abilities. This cognitive view of cells, based on their sensory systems and information processing apparatus, changes our understanding of life and requires radical reformulation of the central dogma of molecular biology.”-QUOTE 2: “Novelty in evolution is inherently linked to the active and cognitive lifestyle of organisms, which continually updates the genome via natural genome editing mechanisms. Random genetic mutations can happen but do not have a decisive role in driving biological evolution.”-QUOTE 3: “This 21st century synthesis will include our recent understanding of life as a phenomenon supported by knowledge embodied in sentient chemical systems, where biocommunication is inherently linked to life as well as to biological evolution. Sentience, subjectivity, cognition, communication, and intelligence appear to be inherently associated with both life and biological evolution.”-QUOTE 4: “Darwinian competition, predation, and struggle for life are being complemented with cooperation, communication, cognition, learning and behaviour, which are also essential ingredients of biological evolution.”-You may disagree with Shapiro, but please don't tell me that I have stretched his ideas beyond recognition by suggesting that cells as sentient, cooperative, intelligent, decision-making beings, and not automata, may have played a vital role in evolution. I will wait for your reaction to these quotes before discussing their huge implications in relation to the rest of your post.