Non-Biological Intelligence

Let me posit some propositions:

organisms interact with their environments;

consciousness is one kind of organism-environment interaction;

some consciousness is intelligent;

conscious organisms, particularly intelligent organisms, not only interact with but also act on their environments;

psychology is based in biology.

Can there be non-biological intelligence? People imagined disembodied consciousness and pre-cosmic intelligence before they understood the biological origins of consciousness.

(i) For intelligent ball lightning in works by Poul Anderson and James Blish, see Kyrie.

(ii) Anderson has post-organic intelligences in Genesis, sophotects in his Harvest of Stars Tetralogy and consciousness-level computers in his Technic History.

(iii) For whether spirits are a kind of energy, see Matter And Energy.

(iv) For more on Blish's energy beings and also on CS Lewis's eldila, see Angels And Demons. The eldila:

"...had some kind of material vehicle whose presence could (in principle) be scientifically verified."

-CS Lewis, Perelandra IN Lewis, The Cosmic Trilogy (Lonodon, 1990), pp. 145-348 AT 1, p. 151.

 

(v) Fred Hoyle has an intelligent interstellar gas cloud in The Black Cloud.

 

(vi) Olaf Stapledon has intelligent nebulae in Nebula Maker and Star Maker.

 

Poul Anderson keeps good literary company.