Bacterial Intelligence? self ID virus that kills enemies (General)

by David Turell , Sunday, April 28, 2019, 20:30 (2034 days ago) @ dhw

DAVID: What chemical processes show is that life at the cellular level can easily be seen and understood as automatic reactions following intelligent instructions. All the research shows is a series of chemical reactions, not the purposeful underlying controls. All biological processes exhibit purpose.

dhw: The research CAN only show chemical reactions, cellular or human. Of course the processes are purposeful, so what “intelligent instructions” or “purposeful controls” are you thinking of, other than your God’s 3.8-billion-year-old programme for all cellular actions, or his personal dabbling?

Same approach: God started life by designing a very complex code to carry instructions (information) to form and control all the processes of life. Science is showing that DNA may be a protein coding mechanism but huge parts of the code are not just genes but interpreters and modifiers of genes. The complexity is only partially unraveled, but in my view the future will find a degree of complexity we can only imagine at this time. That is what I refer to as God's initial program.

DAVID: A protein molecule is not like as trained dog. It reacts to other proteins in a series of reactions, as far as I am concerned all set off automatically.

dhw: Molecules react automatically to receive information and to implement decisions. But what sets off the process of implementation (i.e. decision-making) is a mystery. You tell us your God must have preprogrammed or dabbled all the decisions or steps for whenever a decision is required. A theistic alternative is that he gave all organisms, including bacteria, the means by which to take their own decisions. Simple choice for you. You have now at least acknowledged that your own choice is not a belief, which I find encouraging.

I view God as maintaining full control at all times.

DAVID: How God controlled the advances of evolution are logical speculations. Bacterial decisions follow logical underlying algorithms.

dhw: Your “algorithms” are the same as your “intelligent instructions” which are the same as your 3.8 billion-year-old computer programme for every single undabbled decision. You may introduce as many scientific terms as you like, but you are still faced with a stark choice between these two options and cellular intelligence, and I remain encouraged by the fact that your personal choice is not a belief.

I've expressed my view of the original genome above as related to the start of life. The genome contains enormous amounts of intelligent information to exert control over life's
processes.