LUCA latest: Shapiro redux (Introduction)

by dhw, Monday, July 17, 2023, 13:51 (493 days ago) @ David Turell

DAVID: You are fully aware of the exquisite designs organisms exhibit. Only a designing mind can achieve that level of design. Cells do not have that degree of mental capacity, even huge committees of them.

dhw: And there you go again, insisting that you know Shapiro is wrong and so, by extension, your theory must be right, in spite of all its logical flaws. NB I am not asking you to believe his theory. I am asking you not to reject it. My view that it is more convincing than the other theories does not constitute a rigid belief, but your “preconceived bias” against it does not provide a single reason for rejecting it.

DAVID: Only God's designing mind is capable of the biochemical complexities of living forms.

We are not talking about the biochemical complexities, but about the ability to process information, to communicate, to take decisions etc. – all the hallmarks of autonomous intelligence.

Larry Moran's criticism of Shapiro's book, Evolution:

MORAN: "I once asked James Shapiro whether he believes in god(s) and whether his "discovery" of some form of directed evolution has anything to do with that belief. He declined to answer."
MORAN: we know the answer. Shapiro was a president of his Temple. Moran is a devoted Darwinist/Atheist who denies the ENCODE removal of junk DNA in his own new book.

dhw: Shapiro’s theory does not depend on the existence of God! That’s why he objects to it being equated with the ID movement. Moran’s theory depends on his faith in chance, and even you would reject such faith.

DAVID: Shapiro as a professional scientist cannot bring god into the picture.

And there is no reason why he should. He is dealing with evolution, which is Chapter Two in the history of life, not Chapter One, which is the origin of life. Theists and atheists can both use his theory – just as they can both use Darwin’s theory.