Cambrian Explosion: afterthought (Introduction)

by dhw, Wednesday, October 02, 2013, 18:03 (4070 days ago) @ David Turell

dhw: I know where we differ: I am suggesting that cells are intelligent, and you are insisting that they are not intelligent, because they are automata preprogrammed by your God. I have explained what I mean by "intelligent": namely, with the ability to gather, process and exchange information, communicate and cooperate with other organisms, take decisions, solve problems. That is my definition of intelligence, which does not require self-awareness, which may be applied to animals including ourselves, and which some scientists also apply to other organisms, including insects and cells/cell communities. Firstly, do you or do you not agree that cells/cell communities have these abilities? Secondly, please give me your own definition of intelligence.-DAVID: Your first point is fine if you take it at an action/reaction biochemical process of exchanging information. Automata . My definition of intelligence is not just the use of information but being able to analyze concepts presented by that information, formuate new theories from those concepts. In other words what we humans do with our brains and our consciousness. Cells don't do this.-From the very beginning, I have emphasized that my concept of intelligence does not involve self-awareness. It's now clear that the additional attributes you insist on before you acknowledge intelligence are "what we humans do with our brains and consciousness" that cells, cell communities, insects, birds and animals can't do. In other words, your starting point is that only humans are intelligent. You did give crows and orang-utans a glimmer of a concession, but so far as we know even they don't analyse concepts or formulate theories or write novels and symphonies or ask questions about the universe.
 
Since according to your definition, only humans are intelligent, we must conclude that your God has preprogrammed every other living organism to do whatever it does. Come to think of it, that may well include humans. You may believe you chose to be a cowboy-doctor-author, but how do you know your God didn't preprogramme all the decisions you thought you took with your own intelligence? After all, you may be nothing but a collection of unintelligent, robotic cell communities.