Quote:
Originally Posted by tore
Yes. I realize it might seem a minor point, but the philosophical distinction is important, I think.
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yea, no doubt there is an important philosophical distinction to be made between a premeditated purpose and an emergent function
but i think in either case, the statement "x exists for y"
or in this case specifically "humans/organisms exist to reproduce/propagate genes" is still accurate
you really don't need for the propagation of genes to be a premeditated goal with regard to the 'design' of humans in order to make this statement true. because even in the alternative scenario... where humans exist as a consequence of the laws of natural selection... because for whatever reason it was statistically favorable for genes to be hosted by an organism, and this organism was shaped and modified over time by natural selection for fitness... the statement that humans exist to propagate these genes is still true, objectively speaking.
because if the laws of nature didn't give rise to this natural competition between replicating molecules which lead to the development of organisms as a way to host and spread these molecules, humans literally wouldn't exist. so i don't think you need an intelligent designer to say that organisms do have an objective purpose, with regard to the trends produced by natural law.