Why not (As a thought experiment) put yourself in the position of a plant and ask yourself ... why has this plant survived in the evolutionary battle for survival and other plants have not? (assuming there is such a thing as plant genus going extinct)...??? Plants lack intelligence, yet they do evolve over time ...

Ultimately it would seem to me that the organism that is most adapted to its environment would by default win out over organisms that are not well adapted to their environment... thats the only way I can picture evolution happening progressively without intelligence.

As a side note, it was my understanding that Neanderthall's went extinct not necessarily because they lacked technology, but because they failed to spread out on the planet and populate new areas ... they stuck together making them "fish in a barrel" as it were ...

Why not (As a thought experiment) put yourself in the position of a plant and ask yourself ... why has this plant survived in the evolutionary battle for survival and other plants have not? (assuming there is such a thing as plant genus going extinct)...??? Plants lack intelligence, yet they do evolve over time ...

Ultimately it would seem to me that the organism that is most adapted to its environment would by default win out over organisms that are not well adapted to their environment... thats the only way I can picture evolution happening progressively without intelligence.

As a side note, it was my understanding that Neanderthal's went extinct not necessarily because they lacked technology, but because they failed to spread out on the planet and populate new areas ... they stuck together making them "fish in a barrel" as it were ... yet, one could argue that only a lesser intelligent species would behave in such ways ...