How children pick up a language: new review of Wolfe (Humans)

by dhw, Saturday, November 05, 2016, 12:21 (2939 days ago) @ David Turell

dhw: And you still haven’t told me what aspects of my OWN hypotheses fail to fit in with the history of life as we know it.

DAVID: From your point of view, not accepting God, your hypothesis can fit the facts as we see them, sort of.. But leaving out the factor of God to drive evolution, your hypothesis becomes untenable for me.

My cellular intelligence hypothesis does not leave out the factor of God. Over and over and over again, I have inserted the qualification “perhaps God-given”. Since that seems to be your only objection, clearly you regard my hypothesis as fitting the facts. Thank you.

DAVID: As for our specialness, you cannot explain it. We are not necessary from the standpoint of natural evolution. We are an extension beyond need. So is multicellularity. A drive for 'improvement or survivorship' is not required by bacteria. They have proven that point.

You have cancelled out the “unnecessary” specialness of humans as a factor by pointing out that multicellularity was not necessary either. On the "multicellularity" thread I gave you an explanation for bacteria remaining the same despite multicellularity:

dhw: It only takes two to tango. Any species that is successful will stay as it is, but it only requires the odd individual exception to start something new. Some – not ALL - single cells merged to begin the process of multicellularity. It was successful. Some – not ALL - individual fish left the water and set off a process leading to land animals. If you believe in common descent, EVERY innovation took place in some – not ALL – existing individuals and led to new species.

DAVID: What you stated is true. Innovation happened, but that still doesn't tell us why multicellularity was necessary for continuously successful bacteria, which are still here everywhere, even seemingly impossible environments.

It wasn’t necessary. That’s why bacteria stayed the same. Once again: Evolution does not progress by every single member of a species suddenly changing into something else. Innovation – if common descent is true – takes place in individuals, and if it is successful, it survives while the rest remain the same. Hence diversification. Not NECESSARY, but unless you consider the senses, sex, brains etc. to be a backward step, in each case an improvement.