Defining sentient cells: Cell receptors (Introduction)

by David Turell , Friday, April 06, 2018, 15:18 (2206 days ago) @ dhw

DAVID: Your answer is not to my point. I find it amazing that we can see how God has used 3-D shape to insert information into the conduct of the molecules of life. But it shows us how bacterial behavior can be totally controlled by the informakion transmitted by their molecules and genome.

dhw: No it doesn’t. It shows us how behaviour of all organisms is conducted through information conveyed by molecules. It doesn’t show us how organisms take the decisions that lead to the behaviour. This applies as much to humans as to bacteria.

If all the decisions are planned using automatic molecular actions, all the decisions are automatic at the cellular level. You expanded your answer beyond that. A kidney cell only does what a kidney cell knows to do, balance the liquids and salts in the body.

DAVID: No, IQ shows us the level of intelligence differs in different brains, based on the quality of complexity the brain offers. The s/s/c can only be as brilliant as the material brain allows.

dhw: IQ shows us the level of intelligence in different people. Dualists believe that the s/s/c is the source of intelligence, which survives the death of the brain (NDEs are used as evidence of an afterlife in which the intelligent you are still the intelligent you), whereas materialists believe that the brain is its source. As usual, you are a dualist advocating materialism.

No I'm not. You have not answered the IQ point. In life the s/s/c must use the brain it is given, and brains are built for different capacities of intelligent thought. NDE's exist in a different circumstance, non-function or death. s/s/c may operate differently then.

DAVID: I agree with you. The organism acting intelligently looks intelligent, but can appear that way by running on intelligent implanted information, a point you cannot deny.

dhw: Yes, we could all be robots. But since you agree with me, and presumably accept the criteria I propose for gauging intelligence, you cannot deny the possibility that bacteria are intelligent.

In my view bacteria are robots.