bat wings and cellular intelligence (Introduction)

by David Turell , Wednesday, May 14, 2025, 17:27 (7 days ago) @ dhw

dhw: There are now over 1400 bat species worldwide. I presume you do not believe your God designed each one individually, and indeed on occasions you have accepted the possibility that he gave cells sufficient autonomous intelligence to make what would have been minor changes in response to different conditions. But still you refuse to consider the POSSIBILITY that their intelligence might extend to a gradual improvement leap by leap that would lead to the finished product we know today.
If you can imagine a small degree of autonomy, I still find it hard to understand why you can’t accept the POSSIBILITY of a large degree.

DAVID: There is no autonomy in organismal cells. They follow directions.

dhw: Your usual statement of your beliefs as if they were facts. Once more:

SHAPIRO: Living cells and organisms are cognitive (sentient) entities that act and interact purposefully […] They possess sensory, communication, information-processing and decision making capabilities. […] Cells are built to evolve; they have the ability to alter their hereditary characteristics etc.

dhw:There are plenty of experts in the field who agree with him.

DAVID: Show me.

dhw: Quite apart from predecessors like Margulis, McLintock and Bühler, you recently drew our attention to a book or article with contributions from scientists from different fields, all of whom supported the theory of cellular intelligence. Unfortunately, I didn’t note down the details, but even a very quick trawl of the Internet brings up books on the subject written by Michael Levin, Michael Denton, Patrick McMillen, Thomas R. Verny, William B. Miller. It’s still only a theory, but so is your belief that there is an omnipotent but inefficient God who takes all the decisions.

I've read Denton without finding any mention of Shapiro.