Innovation and Speciation: pre-planning (Evolution)

by dhw, Sunday, May 25, 2014, 14:41 (3834 days ago) @ David Turell

dhw: Once the intelligent, inventive mechanism (of unknown origin) was in place,. Wouldn't you say "spraying inventions in every direction" sounds less like pre-planning than an almighty free-for-all?-DAVID: Again why was life given this amazing ability to invent all sorts of strange and exotic life forms? My answer is it allowed for the development of all the necessary complex parts of humans.-"Allowed for" is clear, since we are here, but I'm not sure about the rest of your terminology. Life doesn't invent anything (and "was given" automatically suggests a giver). On the assumption that all living forms descend from earlier living forms ... which you and I both believe ... it is living organisms that have this amazing ability to invent, whether a god gave it to them or not. But what I'm challenging is the claim that the adipose fin and the sea anemone's nervous system antedated their need, and that all these "strange and exotic life forms" (vast numbers of which have gone extinct) were part of a specific plan leading to humans.
 
Under "Convergence" you write: "The way evolution has proceeded is by invention, trial and error". Yes indeed. Success leads to survival, and error leads to extinction. The sea anemone has survived, so why was its nervous system not "needed"? (Apart from the fact that NOTHING beyond bacteria was "needed", including humans.)
 
You write: "But still the amazing fact is we arrived, against all need for something so complex to survive in the Earth's climate and challenges." The sea anemone also arrived and survived "against all need", and so did the shark, the camel, the elephant, the grasshopper, the ant etc. etc.
 
You write: "Still smells of purpose to me." So are the sea anemone, shark, camel, elephant etc. NOT part of God's purpose? Then why did he "allow for" them? You always tell us not to attribute thoughts to your God, so may I ask why it is so important for you to impose your view of his purpose on what you have agreed is the higgledy-piggledy bush of evolution?