Bacteria, God & Double Standards (Evolution)

by dhw, Thursday, July 09, 2015, 13:35 (3213 days ago) @ David Turell

dhw: I also accept this argument, apart from your conclusion that “therefore single cells are also automatons”. When cell communities combine into new organs/organisms, they must clearly establish a pattern that will be repeated over and over again if the new organ/organism is to survive. The cells accept their role, much like ants, and will fulfil it automatically. However, when conditions change, pure automatism may result in extinction. That is why some cells/cell communities change.... (I see ALL the hypotheses, including your own, as having nothing but theoretical bases.)-DAVID: You are confusing the automatic reactions to stimuli I have discussed in the past, with the cells ability to adapt through epigenetic and mutational changes when required. The cells have both abilities. James Shapiro is clear on this. And I know you reject all theories as a bone fide agnostic.-There is no confusion. Your ... at the end omits the whole point of my post, so let me restore the missing section: “Adaptation is one possibility, but the same mechanism may be also be capable of innovation” - the alternative which I am offering to random mutations and your own divine pre-preprogramming. Of course we know that cells/cell communities adapt, and the issue is whether their ability to make changes to themselves entails awareness and may extend as far as autonomous invention. Since James Shapiro is one of those specialists who claim that bacteria can think, you can hardly call on him as your ally. But I know you reject any findings that do not coincide with your personal faith. On the other hand I myself, as a bona fide agnostic, neither reject nor accept theories relating to the existence of God (as well as the source of consciousness and the mechanisms of evolution). As you should have realized by now, the hallmark of agnosticism is open-mindedness.