Intelligence (Origins)

by David Turell , Saturday, March 02, 2013, 15:12 (4282 days ago) @ dhw

dhw:I'm proposing a hypothesis that evolution is driven by an unselfconscious but inventive form of "intelligence" within living cells, and that life itself may have come about through a similar "intelligence" inherent in the chemicals that combined to create it.-Inherent rules cover chemical reactions. If that is what you mean by 'intelligence' what intelligence made the rules?-> DAVID: If at first there was amorphous disorganized energy, how does anything develop from that point? [...] So how does the energy advance?
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> dhw: Was there ever an "at first"? What preceded the Big Bang (assuming it happened)? But even if it was a beginning, you yourself believe the energy was not amorphous and disorganized. The resultant matter gradually formed patterns, but instead of a super, self-aware intelligence consciously and purposefully making them, I'm suggesting they were made by an unselfconscious intelligence within the materials themselves, -After the Big Bang ALL energy was an amorphous plasma. Where is the intelligence?
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> DAVID: I cannot believe your scenario, unless I accept the idea that in an unguided evolution of energy proceeded by chance to a more organized state. Our self-awareness is very organized energy.
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> dhw: Unguided, yes, but not by chance. The "intelligent cell/genome", which I thought we had agreed on, is the obvious example. A change in the environment (e.g. a massive increase in oxygen) may allow for new forms of life. "Intelligent" mechanisms within the cells of existing creatures then produce new combinations (organs) that can exploit the new environment. The production of these organs is not guided, but it is not by chance. (Your latest post under "James Shapiro" seems to be following precisely this line of thought.) If they work, the new combination will be perpetuated, and the cells will once more act like automatons. -Cells are automated factories which can self-correct to some degree as Shapiro shows. So can the robots in the automated car factories, designed by engineers. But you want cells as automated factories to appear but never engineered? I can't imagine that just as you cannot imagine my God.-> dhw:Similarly, unselfconscious first cause energy creates systems. -As Tony point out, not without reasoning.