Origin of Life; pre-planning (Introduction)

by dhw, Thursday, October 06, 2011, 17:09 (4775 days ago) @ David Turell

DAVID: Wow!!! New studies suggest that an organelle was present in early life forms. But, bacteria aren't supposed to have organelles. Was early life more complex than we imagine? Was there pre-planning, i.e., intelligent design?
-http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-10-universal-common-ancestor-complex-previously.html-If early life was more complex than was hitherto imagined, it would suggest an even more higgledy-piggledy advance to the complex beings (us) which you regard as your UI's ultimate goal. Why should evolution have moved from complex to simpler forms if it was pre-planned to become increasingly complex? But the fact remains that whatever forms early life may have taken, these must have borne within themselves the mechanisms that would enable them to adapt and to innovate. The glib materialist argument that early forms were "simple" glosses over the colossal and so far inimitable complexity of those mechanisms. Once they were in place, there is no reason why they shouldn't have diversified into simpler or more complex forms, maybe according to the demands of the environment. I wouldn't see this as evidence of pre-planning, though I can well understand the argument for intelligent design. I don't think you should equate the two with your "i.e."! Many thanks, though, for alerting us to yet another discovery that questions received wisdom. It ties in neatly with Tony's (b_m) marvellous movie quote on 3 October at 20.19 under "The Expanding Universe": "Imagine what you'll know tomorrow."