Miscellany (General)

by David Turell , Tuesday, July 06, 2021, 17:53 (1026 days ago) @ dhw

Big brain evolution
DAVID: Your question does not fit my example. Neurons receive consciousness. So they receive a signal and if sick, garble it. Pure dualism.

dhw: You mean my question does not fit your theory, the alternative to which is that neurons create consciousness. So they not only receive information from outside themselves, but if sick they also misinterpret (garble) it and produce false thoughts. Pure materialism.

You object by representing your materialism theory. Your neurons make consciousness, mine receive it. Answer my proposal as a strong possibility based on NDE studies

Neutron star black hole merge

DAVID: The moment you make an attempt to assume God's intentions, you are assuming a God's possible personality, and yours is always humanized.

dhw: So when you say that your God only had one purpose, knew exactly how to fulfil his purpose, was always in full control, would never deliberately relinquish control, and deliberately designed “bad” viruses and bacteria, but “all his works are for the good”, you are not assuming a God’s possible personality with human traits?

Of course I must discuss a non-human God in humans personality terms.

Ant raft movements

DAVID: In bird flocks, bacterial colonies, or in ants the limited individual actions produce the swarm. We interpret it as a swarm as our concept. Again as in cell functions, we are on the outside making an observation/judgement. You have yours, I have mine.

dhw: Yes, a collection of individuals may be called a swarm. And collectively they produce intelligent solutions to problems which an individual might not be able to solve. We agree. But you insist that your God preprogrammed the solutions 3.8 billion years ago,... I propose that what looks like intelligence might actually be intelligence.

God did not design/program swarms which are automatic results of specific individual action

Bacterial motors 1
DAVID: The point is not your reply. How does evolution add useless parts until the proper form of a useful motor is present?

dhw: We have no idea how or when these different parts evolved, but may I suggest that in whatever combination and at whatever time they evolved, they were not useless.

Wishful Darwinist thought. A partially complete mechanism cannot be used!!! Be logical

Bacterial motors 2

DAVID: the study of the bacterial flagellum all over again evolved into helpful celia/hairs that are vital to health. Pure irreducible complexity requiring a designer.

dhw: An excellent example of how one development leads to another as cells or parts of cells take on new functions, as they may have done in the evolution of bacterial motors themselves. Furthermore, the final sentence of the quote suggests defective material “organelles” may have devastating effects on the material brain, which then cannot reason properly. No mention here of devastating effects on the dualist’s immaterial soul. And the question remains: why would material drugs and diseases have any effect on an immaterial soul, which is supposed to do all the thinking? (I'm putting the case for materialism because David ignores it – not because I'm committed to either of the –isms.)

as usual dhw doesn't understand the concept of a neuron as a receiver. See the entry today of deep brain stimulation curing OCD.

Root microbiome helps plants
DAVID: All the branches of evolution are necessary cooperative organisms to maintain life during evolution's steps. dhw seems confused about the issue.

dhw: Such cooperation is necessary at all times and for all forms of life, but that does not mean that at all times every form of life and cooperation was individually designed by your God, or that every form of life and cooperation was part of his one and only goal of specially designing humans and their lunch. You seem confused about the issue that is in dispute, as you keep leaving it out.

I leave out nothing. You object to my God as designing everything. If you accept the existence of design, a designer must exist.