Is it metabolism when an organism's sensor detects poison, and, because of the signal it seems to the doet, the doer takes the organism away from the poison? — Patterner

Metabolism is involved for sure.

Regardless, it's not a belief that the photon has a mind. — Patterner

True, but it is the belief that everything is made of mind-stuff. Not sure how it addresses things such as photons.

What was the beginning of thinking, if not this? — Patterner

If by beginning you mean something that must happen before thinking, the big bang is much more of "thinking" than the poison situation. If you mean the chemical reaction of a jellyfish avoiding poison is the most basic type of thinking, then the same question:

But then again, are they reacting any differently than when a rock reacts when we kick it by flying away into my neighbour Giorgios' window? — Lionino

Metabolism is involved for sure. — Lionino

Metabolism is involved with every aspect of a living thing, if we want to go that route. Still, we categorize things. This is cognition. This is metabolism. This is respiration. This is circulation.

True, but it is the belief that everything is made of mind-stuff. Not sure how it addresses things such as photons. — Lionino

I think there are panpsychists who after with that. Not all do. Some of us believe everything has a mental property, just everything has physical properties. I don't believe mass is mind-stuff. I don't believe charge is mind-stuff.

If by beginning you mean something that must happen before thinking, the big bang is much more of "thinking" than the poison situation. — Lionino

I don't think the BB sensed something in it's environment, and did something in response to what it sensed. Although people think about things outside of those parameters, it's how we start thinking when we're infants, and how thought began.

If you mean the chemical reaction of a jellyfish avoiding poison is the most basic type of thinking, then the same question:
But then again, are they reacting any differently than when a rock reacts when we kick it by flying away into my neighbour Giorgios' window? — Lionino

The same answer: Yes. If there was no difference between the movement of the rock and the movement of the jellyfish, we wouldn't have biological sciences. But we do, because, even though it's physical processes in both cases, they are different types of processes.

A kicked rock is moved by simple physical contact. A jellyfish does not moved away from poison because the physical bulk of the poison pushes it away. There is no change to the rock, unless it breaks. And that tells us nothing. There are changes within the jellyfish, because its sensors reacted to the poison, and signals were sent to its means of propulsion.

What field of study says there is no difference?