Posted: Apr 17, 2011 1:16 pm
pfrankinstein wrote:
As an atheist i penned the science supposition 'One bang one process', i then broadly divided the one process logically by noting total difference in both material and domain.
The Process of Primordial evolution, the process of Darwinian evolution, Cognitive evolution.
Each process related to the other. Am i describing ONE process or THREE?
Paul.
As I see it, they are only related in that one follows the other, in (our) retrospect. One thing leading to another, without a shared mechanism. And so I would say you are describing three processes, not one.
Analogies don't fully apply, but I'll attempt one anyway: Metal is formed in supernovae, and is abundant on earth. | Humans then mine, smelt and manufacture the metal into car parts. | The finished car is driven by a human.
These are processes that follow each other, but have different mechanisms. They are only related in that one follows the other - they are not part of one, continuous common process, other than perhaps in (our) retrospect.
"Winding it back", the car could be made without ever being driven, the metal could be mined and manufactured without it being used in a car, and metal could exist on earth without us using it at all. Only in retrospect are the various processes related, to form a car that is driven.
"Winding it back", biological evolution could have ended up without cognizant beings, and the cosmos could have formed without biological evolution following. Because they are not one process, but three separate ones following each other. Only in retrospect are the various processes related, to form cognizant beings. IMO.
If you want to say (I don't know if you do or not) that the Big Bang must lead to biological evolution, and biological evolution must lead to conscious beings with increasing cognitive abilities, because it is all part of one continuous process, then I'm all for that, but then you need to bring out the science that has lead you to that conclusion, you can't just assert it.
What you use as the common thread between the processes to tie them together to form one process, is selection. As you outlined above; Non-conscious selection, Un/sub-conscious selection, and Conscious selection. But they are not the same.
There's "sieve-like, one-off selection" (Non-conscious), biological natural selection (which can also be 'sieve-like', but builds on heredity) (Un/Sub-conscious), and you have the selection made by cognizant beings, where many possible outcomes are weighed against one another, and the one deemed best is chosen (Conscious selection).
I don't see how they bind it all together as one process, other than in semantics, with the word 'selection' as a common thread.