From: nobody@nowhere.com   
      
   On 1/16/2026 1:07 PM, The True Melissa wrote:   
   > Verily, in article <10kdtcq$1s955$2@dont-email.me>, did   
   > nobody@nowhere.com deliver unto us this message:   
   >>   
   >> You're assuming that evolution has a purpose, whereas a dyed-in-the-wool   
   >> atheist would allege that it simply happens, like gravity.   
   >>   
   >   
   > "Purpose" doesn't imply design. For instance, the purpose of eyelids is   
   > to sweep debris from our eyes and distribute moisture. That doesn't mean   
   > someone built them with deliberate intention. It also doesn't mean it   
   > just happened at random.   
      
   That conflates 'purpose' with 'function'.  And indeed they're often used   
   interchangeably, but incorrectly so, at least in the present context.   
      
   'Purpose' implies intent, which afaik is solely a property of   
   consciousness.  'Function' otoh is an activity whose results we can   
   observe, but whose origins we can only guess at.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)