Who needs a brain?<br>
MST 9-feb-93
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existence of a nervous system does not imply the existence of a brain.
For instance, the hydra has a nervous system, but is organized as a network
of ganglia. It has interesting survival properties: it can be chopped up and
each piece will continue to function, eventually growing into a new
organism. Try this with a human sometime - the human organism is so
centralized and specialized that it can't survive. A brain may also not
be necessary for intelligence and consciousness to exist.
The metaphor here is with the Gaian Organism. It may be a mistake to imply
that there is a centralized identity in Nature, even though nature is composed
of a conscious network of life. The same argument applys to "God" in Nature
or the universe. Nested levels of complexity do not imply centralized
"supreme" intelligence at the top of a heirarchy.
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