More about how evolution works: multicellularity (Evolution)

by David Turell , Sunday, October 30, 2016, 00:34 (2945 days ago) @ dhw

DAVID: I repeat, do you see purpose in anything related to evolution? Possibly a purposeful God?

dhw:I fully recognize the possibility that God exists, and if he does, then he would certainly have had a purpose in creating life. I look at the history of life, so far as we know it, and see a higgledy-piggledy story of comings and goings, and so I assume that this endlessly fascinating process of change is what God intended (= his purpose).

If God started life He must have had a goal, and I don't believe it was with the idea of seeing what endless weird permutations of life could be created. That is what you have written. Why not a goal of a very special type of creature that could relate to Him very directly? That makes it very personal.

dhw: I don’t think he would create something he didn’t want. His personal motivation, then, might be enjoyment of the spectacle, and curiosity as to what his invention might come up with next.

You imply that He creates only what He wants, and then switch it around, and say He has to anticipate what comes next. One thought doesn't follow the next.

dhw: He may well have dabbled, and in the case of humans either the dabble or the natural evolution of his invention has thrown up the most fascinating product of all. I can well imagine that he finds human activity as wonderful and as terrible as we do. To complete this picture, perhaps you could repeat for us your own view of God's purpose in creating humans.

My 'purpose' defined above.

dhw:If he does not exist, the purpose is whatever individuals make it, but I have said over and over again that the two purposes “related to evolution” that are clear to me are survival and improvement.

And I view survival and improvement are mechanisms to reach a goal, the real goal a perfected organism that can study His creation and understand it.