Natures wonders: killer penguins hunt in packs (Introduction)

by dhw, Saturday, October 07, 2017, 10:25 (2602 days ago) @ David Turell

DAVID: If I am correct that God is the consciousness of the universe, it pervades everything and every living organism. However use of that consciousness is limited. Bacteria can't. Humans can. That is where we differ.

dhw: According to you, humans can and doggies can and any organism with a brain can. The only difference is one of degree. But you have agreed that bacteria are conscious (= aware of what is outside and inside themselves). So what do you think is the point of them being conscious if they can’t use their consciousness and have to rely on God’s preprogramming or direct dabbling to provide all the solutions to all their problems?

DAVID: Bacteria are conscious in the sense that they can receive stimuli and react to them. I still think it is all automatic.

And by “automatic” I presume you mean your God preprogrammed all their problems and solutions 3.8 billion years ago, or he pops in to do a dabble whenever there’s a problem he hadn’t solved for them 3.8 billion years ago.
Same issue under "4-D DNA neighborhood controls”:

DAVID: The fact that DNA can rearrange itself so quickly to respond as necessary indicates there are chemical controls that are yet to be understood. It looks as if DNA can think, but that is beyond possibility. The complexity of the underlying organization it presents demands that the system is designed. Not by chance.

A materialist might say the fact that we can think indicates that “there are chemical controls that are yet to be understood”.
DNA is one part of the cell. If Margulis, McLintock, Buehler and Shapiro are right, cells can think. Certainly not “beyond possibility”.