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Darwin's Illusion

LIIA

Well-Known Member
You're moving the goalpost.
Your comment stated "The rare and illogical exception is that something would be used for another random purpose other than “Its goal. Its target. Its aim”"


You didn't sayin anything about that thing doing a "better" job at that "other random purpose other then its goal / target / aim".

So to now sneak that in, just so you can disagree with my reply, is just dishonest.
Having said that, how would you even determine what counts as "better"?

I have given you the example of using a doorstop as a weight to fix a glued puzzle piece.
It did a fine job as a weight for that.

How would you define it if did a "better" job as a weight then it did as an actual doorstop?

In fact............ in this particular case I'ld have to say it did in fact do a better job as a weight then it did as doorstop. A strong enough wind made the door shut anyway when I used it. But it never fell off the puzzle piece and it's very well glued. So I would give it a 10/10 as weight for puzzle glueing. I'ld give it only a 7/10 as a doorstop as I feel that it should be able to withstand a bit more wind.

How is that changing the goalpost?

Yes, The rare and illogical exception is that something would be used for another random purpose other than “Its goal. Its target. Its aim”"

You sure can re-purpose your shoe or laptop and use it as paperweight but is that common or logical? Is the shoe best fit as paperweight?

You used your doorstop as weight, anything can be used as weight but the specific material, cost and the rubber ring of your doorstop that is now purposeless is not best fit for your new purpose. Perfection/engineering/design is about every component being utilized successfully and efficiently for an intended purpose.

Apparently not as imo it did a better job as a weight to glue a puzzle piece as opposed to acting like an actual doorstop.

Did the rubber ring play any role? Was the cost of production appropriate for your new use?

Your new purpose involved a need for weight, nothing else. It’s a simple need, anything would suffice. It’s a poor example but a sophisticated complex purpose would need a sophisticated complex product to address the specific need.
 

LIIA

Well-Known Member
Why are you repeating this falsehood?
I explicitly mentioned and explained that I wasn't claiming that.

I was instead making the point that LUCA does not refer to "first life ever". Instead, it refers to the last common ancestor of extant life.

And that LUCA thus could be just 2 billion years old. I know and have said explicitly that I know that it is known to be older then that.

You were claiming that LUCA = first life.
I was correcting that falsehood.
It could be first life. But it doesn't have to be and likely isn't.

Irrelevant nonsense. The logic of the ToE is that all types of life today necessarily came from first life, if this is the case, why couldn’t first life (whatever it is) be considered as LUCA? Unless you make another empty claim that multiple types of first life emerged independently but some types failed to reproduce. In any case, I don’t really care. I’m not concerned about some nonsense speculations.

The important point is that there is no route through which life would emerge on its own from nonliving matter. Abiogenesis is merely a name for a hypothesized unevidenced process.

That's not what he said.

He said "the precise path..."

You seem to have a habit of sneakily add or ommit certain words which change claims and statements in significant ways.

It's very hard to have an open honest conversation like that.

It’s the other way around, the word “precise path" was used to give the uninformed reader a false impression that scientist know what they really don’t. The true status of Abiogenesis today was explained in # 1850

Darwin's Illusion | Page 93 | Religious Forums
 

LIIA

Well-Known Member
Let's have some fun with this.

Explain to us all why you think we should see this "randomly emerge all the time".

Your answer will have to involve the technical aspect of genetics, as in what type of mutations would alter fur color and what the probabilities of those mutations are.

Are you serious? Do you know what “random” means?

It’s a mindless process, there is no intention or awareness of what the best color for the specific environment should be. Any color may emerge randomly. Even after reaching a “local optimum” the mindless random mutation process is not aware of it. Per the ToE the mutation happens randomly with the possibility of any random color/change happening at any random time.

I understand randomness quite well. It's a big topic in software development land when we require true random numbers.

But this isn't about mere randomness - and that's your mistake.
This is about randomness within a very narrow scope.
Randomness in biology with respect to fitness.
Not randomness across the board.

The creative force “mutation” is supposed to be totally random. Selection is not random, but selection doesn’t create anything, only select among random variations that supposedly emerged through random mutations. Whatever change emerges is supposed to be random, non-intentional and can be anything at any time.

Polar bears are not going to give birth purple children.

Why? State your reasons. Why can’t a random mutation cause the emergence of black, brown or any other nonsense color, if the process is truly random?

Not necessarily "new" though.
I'll stick to "altered", which includes change, addition and removal.

What? Why is that? Is it because you said so?
The sudden jumps after the stasis always involve massive addition of genetic info.

Excuse me while I take the word of well respected and published paleontologists over some internet arm-chair "scientist" who argues against very established science out of religious motivation.

What I’m telling you is the conclusion of paleontologists. That is why the word “ancestor” is avoided and replaced with “relative” to imply some sort of unknown relationship.

In any case, “who I’m” is not your concern, your concern is my argument. I’m not concerned who you are either; my concern is your argument.

Which is what we have.

False. See # 326 & # 327
 

LIIA

Well-Known Member
I didn't ignore anything. You're the one who's ignoring the actual point.

The point is about what the "L" stands for in LUCA.
It's not about the age of LUCA.

But ow well..... clearly you aren't interested in having an actual honest conversation.

All you care about is scoring "debate points" to make it look as if you are "winning".

It's not about points or winning. To me, an argument about LUCA or how old is it, is totally pointless. Consider the points all yours.
 

LIIA

Well-Known Member
So There is no word for the development of complexity and functional 'non designs'? Makes discussion of this subject kinda difficult.

The word doesn’t exist because complex design is always purposive.

So you've defined it But if everything's designed, there would be no natural process at all; no chemistry, physics, or anything. Water freezing or a rock rolling downhill would be direct interventions by God.

We see it as the norm. In that sense we call it "natural". But natural doesn’t mean or equal non-purposive.

Again, if the outcome of an automated process is design, then the process itself is design.

No. Order, complexity and functional interactions are everywhere, but there is no evidence of purposive or intentional design.

It’s an oxymoron. Order, complexity and functional interactions are evidence of purposive/intentional design.

Design and automatic function are everywhere.

Yes, design and automatic function are everywhere. Both are evidence of purposive/intentional design. Being automatic is by no means evidence for the absence of purpose.

The "design" can be explained by ordinary, unguided chemistry or physics. T

What are the reasons to claim that chemistry or physics are unguided processes.

This is just the old irreducible complexity argument. It's wrong.

Irreducible complexity is very true regardless of any claims otherwise.

Functional elements may become more complex or modify their functions, but functional order exists from the beginning.

Yes, as you said, already Functional entities have a chance to survive and adapt but non-functional entities cannot survive to get a chance of being functional.

Yes, functional order must exist from the very beginning. The non-functional has no chance of being functional on its own.

Chemistry creates self-replicating, lifelike structures even before they develop into what most people would consider organisms. Life and it's complexity are a progression of increasing functional complexity.

Not true, Chemistry never creates self-replicating entities in nature. A virus, which is the closest structure to a living system can never self-replicate without a living system (the host cell). Virus structures in nature neither get increased functional complexity to become alive nor to have the ability of self-replication without the host cell; there is no evidence for that. The imagined gradual increase of functional complexity doesn’t happen in nature. Only adaptations as a function of directed mutation happen and adaptations don’t transform one species into another.

Selection selects from amongst random mutations, making the process non-random.

The alleged creative mechanism is always random (mutation), selection doesn’t play any role with respect to what type of random mutation may or may not emerge. The process is supposedly mindless, whatever change emerges is essentially random trial and error.

Functional patterns don't emerge from non functional patterns. The non-functional is eliminated before it becomes a pattern. Functional patterns evolve from previously functional patterns.

Logically, first functional patterns must emerge from preceding non-functional patterns. If the non-functional is eliminated before it becomes a pattern, then there is no route through which the functional pattern would emerge.

I agree that functional patterns only come from previously functional patterns. Never from non-functional patterns.

Random misplacements and 'errors' are variations for evolution to select from. Sometimes they prove useful.

It's not about being useful or not. The point is that such random errors in nature (misplaced arms or eyes) do not exist.

The vital systems have been in place from day one. Functional variations are retained, dysfunctional ones are eliminated. Easy-peasy.

What? Do you really mean it? If you do, we’re in agreement.

If you acknowledge that vital systems have been in place from day one, then you necessarily acknowledge that there was no gradual change to give rise to these vital systems in the first place!! I.e., no evolution!

Neutral variation is the rule. Dysfunctional variation isn't usually frequent or virulent enough to cause extinction.

In a random mindless process, why wouldn’t the random dysfunctional variations (errors) be the overwhelming rule? In such process, accidental functional variations should be the exception. The rule should be numerous random errors with some accidental advantageous changes that get filtered out by selection.

The fact is that alleged random dysfunctional variations (that allegedly get eliminated by selection) are non-existent.

For example, is there any evidence that random variations of black or brown bears emerging randomly among polar bears, then gets eliminated by selection?
 

LIIA

Well-Known Member
An unknown cause is not what I'd call magic. Magic is effect without cause or mechanism. Magic is more like miracle.

If you witness the effect, the cause exists. There is no effect without a cause. If the cause is unknown or not understood (what you call a miracle) it doesn’t meant that the cause doesn’t exist.

The cause for the behavior of galaxies or subatomic particles is not really known or understood but we know it must exist and simply assign a name to that unknown yet forget that a mere name is not by any means knowledge of a cause.

No. Inferring an unknown cause doesn't necessitate design or a designer,

Logically the “unknown” can be anything, the observations and outcome of forces at play are the evidence of the characteristics of that “unknown” and whether intention/design is involved.

A designer still requires mechanism, unless there is actual magic involved.

Why do you think that the mechanism must be within your knowledge or grasp? Why you insist to consider the “unknown” as magic. There is no magic; there is “unknown causes” beyond our knowledge or grasp.

Only the first cause is non-contingent, everything else is. Even “time" and “space" are contingent beings. Do you think we can wrap our minds around the nature of the non-contingent being/first cause that exists beyond the limitation of time and space? We can’t understand the nature (we can’t even understand the intrinsic nature of fundamental physical forces) but unless the first cause exists, no contingent being does.
 

LIIA

Well-Known Member
Life may have had a chemical cause, but the appearance of the universe may well be beyond cause. It's not understood.

So now you accept causeless effects “the appearance of the universe" and you don’t consider it to be magic?

Even the “chemical causes", why/how does it exist? If “chemical causes" provide explanation for its end products, what explains the “chemical causes" itself? It’s not a brute fact.

If “the appearance of the universe" is beyond cause within your knowledge/grasp, what is the reason why you insist that life must have a cause within your grasp? You don’t even know what life is.

You insist on causality whenever you think a cause is within your knowledge otherwise you deny the need for causality. IOW, your relative knowledge/understanding is the reference that dictates whether/when causality applies. It's not logical, your relative capacity is not the absolute reference. On the other hand, my position is that causality must apply to all entities with the exception of the first cause (first cause is not an effect). Yet, the nature of the first cause (as well as all fundamental causes for that matter) can be very well beyond our grasp.

Order is manifested, but purpose? Purpose implies intention, and we don't have any reason to infer intention or purpose. Once the universe expanded, and its laws and constants fixed, the natural interactions they empowered unfolded automatically. Imagining an intentional mechanic or magician is just anthropomorphizing.

Why do you think that these automated processes don't manifest “purpose”? Is that because the end products of these interactions don’t show manifestations of purpose? To the contrary, we see purpose in everything; you simply deny the existence of purpose because you cannot wrap your mind around the origin cause for it.

Einstein said “We are in the position of a little child entering a huge library, whose walls are covered to the ceiling with books in many different languages. The child knows that someone must have written those books. It does not know who or how. It does not understand the languages in which they are written. The child notes a definite plan in the arrangement of the books, a mysterious order, which it does not comprehend but only dimly suspects.”

Observations don't point to it. You're trying to ascribe everyday human experience to theoretical physics. Reality doesn't behave like our experience of the material world.
The burden of supporting this fantastical claim is on you. I hold the default position.

You can’t separate our conscious experience of the material world from reality. Our conscious experience is an integral/essential component of reality. See # 3086.

Consciousness and the quantum state of the universe are interrelated (the wave function collapses due to its interaction with consciousness). John Archibald Wheeler suggests on the basis of quantum mechanics that the universe, as a condition of its existence, must be observed. The entire universe would be in a superposition of states that only collapses to the realm of classical reality through the observation of the conscious mind. Without consciousness there is no reality, only superposition of states.

Matter and consciousness are inseparable and regarded as dual aspects of one underlying reality integrating the physical and the metaphysical. Prior to life, reality existed and allowed life/our consciousness to emerge, but consciousness can never be absent in the fabric of reality. Reality was possible due to interactions with earlier consciousness, i.e., the absolute consciousness of the first cause.

Reality in any shape or form is not possible without the absolute consciousness that forces the collapse of superposition of states into reality. Otherwise, there can be no reality and no life.

Quantum mechanics offers new understandings of reality that may appear impossible/illogical yet acceptable and taken as facts. I’m not claiming that quantum mechanics offers a coherent grasp of what reality is but for those who claim to follow the scientific stance, they should know what quantum mechanics proposes about consciousness, IOW they cannot deny consciousness/intention/purpose as an essential component in the fabric of reality merely based on their wish.
 

LIIA

Well-Known Member
I thought noöne could understand God.

No one can understand the nature of God (or any fundamental cause). But everyone can understand the existence of God.

Again, consider the example of dark energy or any physical force, you can understand its existence, but you can never understand its nature or why/how it exists.

Why does the order and function we see in nature require an intentional designer or a purpose? Why isn't blind physics sufficient? Can you not wrap your mind around the unguided ramifications of chemistry and physics?

Because matter and consciousness are dual aspects of one underlying reality as clarified above (#3148). With blind physics, there is nothing but superposition of states (possibilities). Conscious observation must exist to cause the collapse of wave function. Consciousness is an essential component of the fabric of reality.

The origins of the laws and constants created with the expansion of the universe are unknown. The whole process is unknown. Perhaps someday we'll unravel it, but, in the meantime, we'll just have to accept it -- without positing some magical, anthropomorphic entity behind it all,

If you acknowledge an “unknown” then you have no basis to deny any characteristics of what you don’t know. All observations and quantum mechanics point to design/intention and consciousness. There is no magic involved but from your point of view, everything is magic, from the behavior of galaxies to the behavior of subatomic particles simply because the causes are not really known or seen. We can only observe and evaluate the effects then infer a logical need for causes even if the causes are totally unknown. which is always the case.

Exactly. So, were water transforming into wine, the sun standing still, Lot's wife transforming into a column of salt, the blind and lame being cured, the dead being resurrected all naturally caused, by known physical mechanisms, or were these all folklore -- or magic?

You cannot deny that an effect took place merely because you don’t know its cause. Can you deny the Big Bang or that the universe appeared? The authenticity of historical events depends on the methods of historical science not on your ability to understand its causes. If the causes are not known/understood to you, it has nothing to do with the fact that the event took place.

We don't know that the formation of the universe had a cause.

The universe is a contingent being not a brute fact. As such, its existence is dependent on a cause. The only non-contingent/ brute fact is the "first cause" that is totally independent from any causality.

Causation becomes fuzzy at a quantum level,

Quantum mechanics/Anthropic principle proposes that causation at a quantum level is dependent on the interactions of matter and consciousness as dual aspects of one reality.

plus doesn't a cause predate an effect. What cause existed before existence and time?

the non-contingent first cause is beyond and totally independent from any (subsequent) laws of physics.

The epiglottis evolved like any other anatomical feature, and it's not a best fit. It's a 'good enough' feature, like most anatomic structures. An intentional designer could have done better, in so many ways.

It’s an empty claim that you cannot demonstrate.

Why do you say no-thingness can't give rise to things?

Possibilities are always dependent on prerequisites. Without it, there are no possibilities of any kind.

Where did this dictator of laws and possibilities come from? Who created him? What evidence do you have that he was either necessary or real?

False logic. First cause is necessarily non-contingent yet must exist, otherwise nothing does.

You keep making these blanket declarations, with no supporting evidence

It’s a simple logic, a "change" is a contingent being not a brute fact, every change must be caused. The cause must precede the change. Without something at the beginning (brute fact), there is nothing now.

The universe had an apparent beginning. It materialized from no thing. How this came about is unknown

This is the threshold where observations stop, and logic continues. The universe is a change. the change is caused. Observations of the fine-tuned universe and the necessity of consciousness in the fabric of reality as proposed by quantum mechanics sheds light on the characteristics of the cause but the nature of the non-contingent cause is beyond our understanding and necessarily different from anything that is confined within our realm.
 

LIIA

Well-Known Member
No. How the universe came to be is unknown. I don't know whether there was chance involved or not, nor do I understand your reasoning, here.

There was no chance. Chance is a possibility. Chance is always dependent on pre-existing conditions. Without pre-existing conditions, there is no chance.

Drunk driving may possibly cause an accident, but if there is no car, no driver, no road, no alcohol, no country, no planet, no space, no time, nothing. Would you still expect an accident of a drunk driver? Would you expect anything at all? Possibilities are always dependent on pre-existing conditions that create the element of chance. Without pre-existing conditions, there is no chance of any kind.

There was no "before." Time began with all the other laws of nature, at the Big Bang. Nor am I talking about nothing. I'm talking about no thing.

Yes. The BB is a change and must be caused. The cause must be a brute fact because it exists beyond the limits of spactime, there is no causal influence that precedes it, simply because in the absence of time there is no “before". Neither spactime nor any physical law applies to the non-contingent/brute fact beyond the BB.

We don't know what the prerequisites for the universe were

We know it was "nothing" or to be more accurate “nothing physical".

It could be uncaused.

The universe is not a brute fact. it has a beginning. i.e., a contingent being that must be caused.

It could be random chance.

Again, the element of chance didn’t exist.

What player rolled the dice to create the chance of a god?

False logic. “Before” doesn’t apply in that domain. the absolute first cause is non-contingent.

Contingence ends at the inflation point,

No, the inflation point is not a brute fact and must be caused.

where cause is an unknown factor. The universe happened. That's all we know. If you can have an uncaused God, why can't we have an uncaused universe?

The universe has a beginning hence must be caused. God has no beginning because his existence is beyond spacetime.

Reality does no correspond with commonsense or our experience of everyday life.

Reality (and all fundamental causes) is beyond human understanding/imagination.

When was it decided that the universe was designed to fit human needs? I know of no scientific consensus on this.

If you don’t know, if you want to know, search it.

I don't know this for a fact. We don't even know how the parameters of our own universe came about.

If you don’t know, then don’t make empty claims about different parameters giving rise to different kind of life/universe.

no known entity that could create a god, and no known mechanism by which a god would materialize from nothing.

When you say, “God would materialize from nothing", you imply that God has a beginning, which is false since the existence of God is beyond spacetime. The first cause is a brute fact without a beginning. God wouldn’t materialize from anything. God always exists. The absence of time makes the question "what precedes God?" illogical since the word “before" doesn’t apply. The first cause is not subject to causality (not an effect).

It's illogical to accept a causeless contingent being “the universe" yet demand a cause for the non-contingent/brute fact “God".
 

LIIA

Well-Known Member
I think we have said everything. What you do with it is on you.

There is no benefit in running in circles, but I’ll continue to respond if I see a need for further clarification.
 

TagliatelliMonster

Veteran Member
How is that changing the goalpost?

It's explained in the post you are replying to.

You used your doorstop as weight, anything can be used as weight


Yes.
Including things that are designed to do other things.


Derp.

:rolleyes:

but the specific material, cost and the rubber ring of your doorstop that is now purposeless is not best fit for your new purpose.
Perfection/engineering/design is about every component being utilized successfully and efficiently for an intended purpose.

Funny.

Apendix is a relic that can explode and kill you. Many people have it removed as an obsolete thing which only causes problems.

Wisdom teeth can hurt like hell. You don't need them and many people's mouths are too small to house them. These people have them removed as an obsolete thing which only cause problems.

The laryngeal nerve goes down, loops around the aorta and goes back up - just to end up an inch or two of where it started. Talk about a waste of resources...



Funny how you people manage to shoot yourself in the foot many a time.
 

TagliatelliMonster

Veteran Member
Irrelevant nonsense. The logic of the ToE is that all types of life today necessarily came from first life, if this is the case, why couldn’t first life (whatever it is) be considered as LUCA?

Because the "L" in "LUCA" stands for LAST. Not FIRST. It's LUCA. Not FUCA :rolleyes:

sheesh..................................
 

TagliatelliMonster

Veteran Member
No, stasis are not preceded by gradual changes.

Except that it is.

The cambrian explosion is not preceded by gradual changes.

It is.

The gradual change is absent in the geological history.

Not really.
There are very few fossils, true. The reason is obvious. Soft bodied organisms are very hard to fossilize.
There was also a lack of dissolved oxygen, further reducing chance of fossilization.

The larger point here that you are (deliberatly?) ignoring, is that the cambrian explosion is not the only period of "rapid" radiation of species followed by stasis.

But whatever straws you can grasp to try and score dishonest points, ey?
 

Subduction Zone

Veteran Member
A joint Argentine-Swedish team led by Argentine paleontologist Marcelo Reguero discovered the oldest fully aquatic whale in Antarctica which dates back 49 million years. You can search it and verify it yourself. Here are some additional sources confirming the info.

<i style="color:#BF1424;" >Argentine find in Antarctica</i><br >The oldest whale fossil discovered<br/> (clarin.com)

Ancient whale jawbone found in Antarctica - Boston.com

Oldest Antarctic Whale Found; Shows Fast Evolution (nationalgeographic.com)



Scientists do it all the time. Paleontologists always derive quite a lot from mere "bone fragments” but the question is whether what they drive is true or false especially if we consider the role of extreme bias.

Hesperopithecus (Nebraska Man) was based on a single tooth, which turned out to be nothing more than a pig’s tooth and Orce Man was based on a single skull fragment which turned out to be from a 4-month-old donkey (see #1252).

In your case, if the conclusion supports your view, then “Scientists are trained to draw conclusions from small fragments” but if it’s against your view then you question how such elaborate conclusions can be possibly drawn from little bone fragments.

That said, the scientific consensus whether you accept it or not was that the jawbone that was discovered in Antarctica was from a fully aquatic whale which dates back 49 million years.
Okay, it has been some time, and I forgot which point you were trying to make.

Right now I am willing to be generous and will barely mention your error with Nebraska Man. That was an error that was never well accepted and merely trying to use it only demonstrates vast ignorance on your part.

Now back to whales. Whale evolution is not my area of expertise at all. I was aware of ambulocetus the "walking whale", it still had four distinct limbs. The timing of it seemed to contradict your claims. But it doesn't. What I was wrong about was the concept of a whale being fully aquatic. Ambulocetus, even though its name means walking whale probably could not walk. They are now thought to have been fully aquatic. That explains also how they could find only a jawbone and determine that it was a fully aquatic whale. It was a member of the ambulocetus family.

And that makes sense. The loss of the hind limbs would have had to have occurred some time after whales became fully aquatic. They would not just fall off immediately.

So what point are you trying to make?


Ambulocetidae - Wikipedia
 

Subduction Zone

Veteran Member
Except that it is.



It is.



Not really.
There are very few fossils, true. The reason is obvious. Soft bodied organisms are very hard to fossilize.
There was also a lack of dissolved oxygen, further reducing chance of fossilization.

The larger point here that you are (deliberatly?) ignoring, is that the cambrian explosion is not the only period of "rapid" radiation of species followed by stasis.

But whatever straws you can grasp to try and score dishonest points, ey?
Not to mention that the Cambrian "Explosion" was tens of millions of years long. It was not as sudden as creationists try to claim that it is.
 
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