Bacterial Intelligence? (General)

by dhw, Monday, January 26, 2015, 17:09 (3377 days ago) @ David Turell

dhw: The question here is whether bacteria are or are not “intelligent”. Under “Panpsychism” I have listed attributes that seem to me (and the participants in this discussion) to denote that they are. It may be controversial, but Shapiro calls for open-mindedness, and at the same time says categorically that bacteria are self-aware, which you have accepted.
DAVID: The difference again in our thinking is that I attribute an enormous amount of intelligent information to the bacterial genome which can automatically guide the bacteria to make the proper adaptive responses to stimuli. Thus they look intelligent but are actually acting more as automatons. The effect we observe is the same but the mechanism is more controlled than the implied free-lance appearance.-You use expressions like “automatically” and “actually”, and (more vaguely) “more as automatons”, “more controlled”, which implies that you already know the answers to what the participants in this discussion are investigating. Of course you are entitled to your opinion, but I would be very hesitant to dismiss the opinions of those who have devoted years of research to the subject. -dhw: And my point is that the intelligent handling of enormous amounts of information by living organisms denotes intelligence, not automatism.
DAVID: I've explained my difference above. They use implanted information.-And I've explained the need for open-mindedness on the subject, as called for by Shapiro amd other specialists in the field.-dhw: Over and over again I have emphasized that I am trying to understand how evolution works. I have conceded that life and the mechanism for invention and autonomous decision-making may or may not have been designed by your God. That is not the focus here. I am offering a view of evolution occurring through the autonomy of organisms.
DAVID: Again, what I mean by semi-autonomous is the organisms are limited or allowed to cerate small modifications of existing structure and processes. Which, seems it me, is what you are describing in the other thread.-This we know, because we can directly observe organisms adapting. Nobody knows how innovations have come about, because nobody has observed them. Hence the fact that none of our hypotheses can be verified. But I am suggesting that since we know organisms possess an autonomous mechanism for change, we cannot discount the possibility that under certain conditions that mechanism may be capable of more than adaptation. The fact that some experts in the field detect a high degree of intelligence even in single-celled organisms lends credence to the idea, even if you are determined to dismiss their research. Please tell me how you personally can know that organisms which look intelligent and have all the attributes of intelligence (which I listed) are actually machines - the very prejudice that was criticized by participants in the discussion.