autonomy v. automaticity (Evolution)

by David Turell , Thursday, February 01, 2018, 18:07 (2485 days ago) @ dhw

dhw:That doesn’t mean that God taught the weaverbird to tie knots so that he could have enough time to produce the human brain.[/i]

DAVID: The nest is a clever construction to protect young weavers.

dhw: All nests are clever constructions to protect all nest-building birds, and some are cleverer than others. So do you think your God preprogrammed/dabbled every nest, or did he just pick on the weaverbird and leave other birds to use their autonomous intelligence to work out how to interweave the component parts and attach them to the branches?

You don't know your nests. Some are simple shallow cups of twigs and open to all sorts of predators. Eagle nests (which I've seen) are wide open but who would approach an angry eagle? Weaver's are completely enclosed as a hanging sack made of intricate knots that would put a Boy Scout to shame.

DAVID: By surviving, that is how they provide energy in a balance of nature, even though you cannot see the connection to ongoing evolution.

dhw: All organisms provide energy. The balance of nature is constantly changing and means nothing more than the fact that whatever species exist at the time exist at the time. Evolution is an ongoing process, but that fact provides no link whatsoever to your hypothesis that your God designed every single life form, lifestyle and natural wonder, and did so for the sole purpose of producing the human brain.

And the balance of nature provided the energy as you state.