Evolution and humans: our feet are special (Evolution)

by dhw, Thursday, October 25, 2018, 11:16 (2219 days ago) @ David Turell

DAVID: My knowledge of the biology of cells is all I need to support my view. Faith is a result, not a cause of statements.

dhw: And “my” cohort of biologists’ knowledge of the biology of cells is all they need to support their view. Please tell me what “statements” provide proof to support your faith in the existence of your God’s 3.8-billion-year-old computer programme for every undabbled innovation, lifestyle and natural wonder.

DAVID: The evidence for design which is unavoidable in the study of life's biology supports the concept of a designing God. Your cohorts makes an educated guess from what they see cells do, and all they see is automatic responses to stimuli, and alter DNA which also may be a programmed response.

No, they see decision-making, and I like your “may be”, which concedes that the changes may NOT be the result of your God’s 3.8-billion-year old computer programme. i.e. they may be the result of the intelligent decision-making which my cohorts extrapolate from their lifetime spent studying the behaviour of cells.

DAVID: These scientists are looking to receptors and pathways, which in my opinion will be automatic, to explain the decision making.

dhw: Yes, that is your opinion. Scientists also try to identify the receptors and pathways used by human intelligence, but you do not believe they explain our decision-making.
DAVID: Why skip from single cells to brain functions? Two very different levels of biologic function from single cell to whole organ.

dhw: Of course they are different levels, but trying to find receptors and pathways will not prove absence of autonomous decision-making intelligence in single cells or in humans.

DAVID: Pathways of response can be shown to be cascades of response by molecules automatically acting, as in the blood clotting cascade (which has been fully understood) and directly refutes your belief. From start to stop clotting is automatic, but looks intelligent if simply reviewed from an outside observation, which is what cellular research does. When the cells are finally fully understood, as clotting is, all the cell does will be revealed as fully automatic.

As usual, you focus on automatic responses and completely ignore the decision-making, which is the whole point of our discussion! As far as you are concerned, humans make decisions (autonomous intelligence), but your God preprogrammed all the decisions of cells 3.8 billion years ago (or he pops in to give them special tuition whenever there’s a new problem).