Biological complexity: understanding the ribosome (Introduction)

by dhw, Wednesday, July 26, 2017, 09:41 (2678 days ago) @ David Turell

Dhw (to Tony): I agree with all your objections. As above, in my response to David, the panpsychist process would have to start at a rudimentary atomic level, and in the course of billions of years build up to the point at which it forms the single cell. The same progression of increasing intelligence as that from the single cell to ourselves (which I do find credible, though not sufficiently so for me to be convinced)

DAVID: You have forgotten the history of life on Earth. Current theory: Earth forms about 4.5 billion years ago; becomes cool enough and calm enough about 4.0 billion years ago to begin to allow for life; first life at 3.8 billion years ago. Result: it took just 200 million years to create life, not billions of years. Surely that suggests agency.

Tony’s question concerned the beginning of panpsychist “intelligence”, and my point was that it would have to begin with inorganic matter at an atomic level. In other words, we are talking about the time when the Earth was formed, not the time when conditions became suitable for life. Even today there are bacteria that live in the most hostile conditions, but they mark the beginning of intelligent life. You left out my important third sentence, which offers an analogy. If matter has some rudimentary form of intelligence, it will make no difference whether conditions are suitable for life or not. This would apply to all matter throughout the universe, most of which as far as we know is totally unsuitable for life but which panpsychists still believe to be possessed of some kind of intelligence. As I keep saying, it’s hard to believe. So is a single mind that is big and powerful and knowledgeable enough to create and encompass possible infinity and eternity.