'Evolution Vs. Intelligence?' - Evolution is intelligence.

We think we're intelligent, so we look at nature and some think that it shows intelligence, while others think it is down to evolution. The basic principles of both intelligence and evolution are the same:

We might characterise intelligence by explaining the process of dialectic reason and the method of science. That is, that a hypothesis is held to be adequate for a time, until new hypotheses come along, which are tested against the old ones and found to be superior. The favoured ones survive to become accepted truth and the inadequate ones are rejected and forgotten.

We might characterise evolution by explaining the process of natural selection and the method of adaptation. That is, that a species is found to be adequate for a time, until new mutations come along, which are tested against the old ones and found to be superior. The favoured ones survive to breed and multiply and the inadequate ones die and are forgotten.

The same phenomenon of replication, mutation and adaptation is present in both of these processes. The universe was not put in place by an intelligent creator. It creates itself. The driving force that created the natural world is the same as that which creates intelligence. The universe is intelligence.

 

although i do like your idea that the process of evolution in the formation of the universe is kindof the same as the evolutionary process of ideas, it's a pretty big leap to say that there are one in the same.
although the universe does kindof follow a path from simplicity to complexity (ions->hydrogen->stars->planets->life->?), i wouldn't call it intelligent.
we might be playing semantics here, but because you kindof bait and switch using the same terms, there needs to be some distinction.
i think of intelligence being not (only) the force that makes the, say, microscope (dutch children playing with discarded eyeglasses), but as the force that uses the microscope to study it's surroundings and develop cell and germ theory.
intelligence seems to be more than mere adaptation. it's using thought and logic to predict and alter the universe, whereas evolution (of life) is a complex system that stems from rather simple rules (genetics and differences in environment over time).

 

Thanks Eugene, I'm just glad someone actually paid attention to what I said and thought about my post. Good response. It certainly makes me re-evaluate my idea. I'll get back to you.