Consciousness; research says insects have it (Introduction)

by dhw, Sunday, July 10, 2016, 13:17 (2849 days ago) @ David Turell

dhw: But still you refuse to commit yourself to the possibility that insects are capable of intelligent design. Yes, you are being coy. And presumably you still stand by your claim that God personally designed or preprogrammed the weaverbird's nest in order to ensure that life went on so that humans could eventually walk the Earth.
DAVID: The weaver bird nest and humans are not closely connected in the scheme of things though you constantly try to equate them. -And still you refuse to agree that insects may be capable of intelligent design. As for the weaverbird's nest, I have spent several years pointing out that that there is absolutely no conceivable connection between it and humans! That is why I have constantly questioned your insistence that God's purpose was to produce humans, but that he also personally designed the nest (plus billions of other natural wonders). Initially you tried to find connections with your “balance of nature” theory, until it became apparent that the balance of nature simply meant life went on, as you now acknowledgeAVID: The variety in the microcosms of life provides energy for living things to continue to evolve, no more than that. The weaverbird nest is part of God's liking of complexity and creating patterns of complexity.-Ah, so now your God has two purposes: to produce humans, and to have fun creating pretty patterns. In my hypothesis, he has fun watching the organisms create their own pretty patterns - but you dismiss that as anthropomorphizing God.-dhw: If God's consciousness can split itself up into different levels and degrees, and is everywhere and into everything, then it is “into” us, your beloved doggy, my beloved ants and all other organisms, including those without brains. NB Instructions are not consciousness.
DAVID: Why the concept of different levels and degrees? Why can't the effect of God's consciousness be everywhere through the quantum level of reality, where He probably is hiding?
dhw: [...] Already you can't make up your mind whether God's consciousness is or is not present everywhere and in everything. 
 
DAVID: You are just slicing and dicing the meaning of God's consciousness. If He works through quantum levels of reality, He is into and affecting everything.-If he exists and created everything, then of course he affects everything. Our context was panpsychism, and I was pointing out the illogicality of your claim that God's consciousness is everywhere and into everything, but it is not in organisms that have no brains.