Paul Davies: A Darwin skeptic confesses (Introduction)

by David Turell , Thursday, March 19, 2020, 17:07 (1711 days ago) @ dhw

QUOTE: "From the Nobel Prize winning geneticist Barbara McClintock in the 1950s to the work of biologist James Shapiro recently retired from the University of Chicago, evidence is mounting that cells possess some level of cognitive ability allowing them to monitor their environments, detect potential danger, and alter their genomes in intentional ways to respond to environmental challenge. It is not clear how they do this, but it does speak to the possibility of some sort of mind at work in the evolutionary process. If this proves to be true, Darwinian evolution will quickly go the way of the dinosaur."

DAVID: Note the bold above. It encompasses my view of Shapiro. One can not get rid of the impression a mind is at work. The earlier bold is a description of my reason to covert to a belief in God. Try to resist the I D arguments if you read their books. No reason to.

dhw: I note the bold with joy, and am grateful as always for your integrity in quoting someone who explicitly supports Shapiro’s theory of cellular intelligence virtually in the same words as I have used myself, and in complete opposition to your claim that cells are mere automatons. Darwinian theory depends on random mutations (he never dreamed of cellular intelligence) and we have agreed right from the start that we do not accept that part of his theory. I have also accepted the logic of the ID argument right from the start. Our professor makes a point of the fact that this is not in itself religious, but of course as I keep pointing out there is no reason why one should not combine the ID argument and the cellular intelligence argument as evidence for the existence of God.

Our difference in looking at the bolded proof is I see the words 'mind at work', as the key part of the quote, indicating God designed everything and is still at work.

Under "A fish with early fingers"
QUOTE: It lived during the Late Devonian period, 393 million to 359 million years ago, when fish like this one began wading out of shallow water onto land.

DAVID: This form had to exist if we accept common descent. But why this advanced skeletal state when not needed? God's advanced planning is my answer.

dhw: I would say the answer lies in the above quote. Once fish began to wade out onto land, their intelligent cell communities began to look for ways to improve their adaptation to a new environment.

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And I would ask, how did an ancient fish mind know to grow fingers many centuries in advance. Only a planning mind knows that point

Under "Manta rays":
QUOTE: Most of the deepest dives occurred during nighttime, possibly to access important food resources.

DAVID: Those enormous pressures would crush maladapted organisms.

dhw: If we accept the reason (to access food supplies), we have another example of how intelligent cell communities change themselves in response to requirements as organisms look to use the conditions in order to improve their chances of survival.

The rays will follow the food supply and will epigenetically modify to keep eating. All mechanisms provided by God. Just methylate!