Panpsychism (Evolution)

by dhw, Thursday, December 13, 2012, 08:33 (4362 days ago) @ David Turell

dhw: In other words, the "creator" is unselfconscious energy which intelligently turns itself into inorganic matter which intelligently forms organic matter which intelligently forms cells which intelligently form organs etc. right through to us. Evolution through unselfconscious to selfconscious intelligence.-DAVID: My problem with this is that I cannot conceive of intelligence without consciousness. Unconscious intelligence? A non-starter! Intelligence requires self-analysis. Unconscious thought processes? Impossible. I cannot conceive of what you are trying to propose.-I'm surprised you can't conceive of intelligence without self-analysis, as this seems to be the rule rather than the exception with most of our fellow animals. Think of the feats of engineering by spiders, ants, bees, birds, beavers ... all astonishing examples of intelligent design ... the intelligent actions of dogs, crows, dolphins, the list of Nature's Wonders with which you are constantly educating us. Are you now saying that all these creatures are self-aware? Similarly, I suggest that the cell communities which fight disease, digest our food and drink, enable us to keep our species going etc. etc. also perform intelligent actions without self-analysis.
 
In your post, you are equating consciousness with self-consciousness, but in my posts I am distinguishing between DEGREES of consciousness (we assume that a spider/ant/dog etc. is LESS conscious than a man), selfconsciousness being an extreme degree of consciousness. This approach lies at the heart of panpsychism as I understand it. I really can't see why the above examples of intelligence without self-analysis from the world we can actually observe should be inconceivable to you. The rest of the "theory" is an extension of this basis, just as your god theory is an extension of the basis you derive from the complex designs we can actually observe.