Evolution took a long time (Introduction)

by dhw, Sunday, January 01, 2017, 11:36 (2665 days ago) @ David Turell

DAVID: I strongly object to your theory, as usual, since I feel any advanced designing requires a conscious mind, as in proceeding from early whale one to early whale two, with tremendous physiological changes from one to the other.

I agree that advanced designing requires a conscious mind (or cooperating minds), if by “conscious” you mean sentient, intelligent, information-processing, communicative, cooperative, decision-making (but not to be equated with the self-awareness of humans). That is the whole point of my hypothesis.

dhw: You insist that your so-called “freewheeling” mechanism is guided and God is always in control. That is not freewheeling. Either the mechanism can act independently or it can’t.

DAVID: I've not been clear, based on your comment. The freewheeling concept is to be seen stepwise. First, the organisms have a mechanism that allows them to try something (freewheeling), but then, secondly, God steps in and alters the change to a direction of evolution He likes.

So what is it you strongly object to? On 29 December I wrote: “Either the mechanism is free and therefore autonomous (UNTIL it is dabbled with) or it is preprogrammed.” Now you are saying that first the mechanism is free(wheeling), and second God dabbles. No difference. So what makes you so certain that your God disapproved of every innovation, lifestyle and natural wonder that organisms “freewheeled” throughout the history of life (since you insist that he designed them all)? Did the weaverbird, for instance, design its own nest but your God didn't like it, so taught the bird how to tie knots (because presumably a knotty nest was for some reason essential to the production of humans)?