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I absolutely get your point. We humans think we are so advanced and so smart. All you have to do is turn on the evening news to realize we are as dumb as a rock. We hate killing, yet we are constantly at war, we hate pain and suffering, but we look the other way while so many others are experiencing exactly that.
I really have very little respect for we humans. A lot of animals are nicer, more compassionate, and smarter than we are.
It would seem to me that another alien species would be considered to have mental illness because of the way they speak, (lost in translation as we would have no idea what they are saying), their customs and culture, eating habits, where do they defecate ? Probably have no concept of manners or consideration of us lower IQ creatures.
I imagine that after spending an half hour with them, we would be looking to escape their company as they would be considered bat *hit crazy by our standards.
Setting aside for the moment the issue of mental illness, per se, there is little chance, to my mind, that humans are some sort of advanced species. This is the reason:
Not to mention genocide, the very real possibility of nuclear war, and [snip]. Religious intolerance is another factor. Our history is bloody and cruel. Lacking empathy for the suffering of animals could arguably be perceived as mental illness, to return to the central topic of the thread.
Yes humans have been deluded by religion to think that the human species is the special snowflake of the earth and all the other animal species that we share this planet with are inferior to us.
All that you said on top of the fact that you can't point the finger at any other animal species on this planet who's responsible for the earths issues including the social issues we see amoung us. The human species is responsible for the current climate change earth is experiencing in addition to the current 6th mass extinction event/Holocene extinction. Unlike past mass extinctions, caused by events like asteroid strikes, volcanic eruptions, and natural climate shifts, the current crisis is almost entirely caused by us — humans.
If humans brains are so advanced why do we succumb to optical illusions so easily?
Why are humans unable to detect dangerous radiation or gases without the use of a scientific detection device?
Humans have the knowledge to understand what is happening to our world, our climate - but yet our civilization appears to be on the grip of denial...a kind of paralysis. There's a disconnect between what we know and what we do. Being able to adapt our behavior to challenges is as good of a definition of intelligence as any I know.
If our greater intelligence is the hallmark of our species - then we should use it as all other animal species use their distinctive advantages to help ensure that their offspring prosper and that their heredity is passed on.
We are told that we are only advanced in one area...our intelligence...however I don't think this an accurate assessment when looking at our behaviors compared to other animal species.
You won't find the sickness and horrors in other animal species that the human species intentionally does to each other and to other animals You don't find other animal species participating in the sickness that you see humans exhibiting.
What does your vet-student girlfriend have to say about your claim that animals do not suffer from mental illness?
We mainly see animals in captivity (those used in medical lab research or those who are forced into circus slavery performances or those held in confinement) developing mental illness.
Sure it can occur in the wild as well but it's not as common as we find with the above situations which are humans controlled.
This straw man doesn't work. Not until you can show another species which is more advanced than humans.
Define what you mean by an "advanced" species?
Humans have been conditioned to believe that we are the most advanced species. OK so what are we so advanced with? Intelligence?
If we are so intelligent why are we such a damaging species to this earth, to each other and to other animal species?
Why aren't we using our intelligence to solve the worlds problems vs. continuing to contribute to them?
Human intelligence is imperfect surely and newly arisen. The ease with which it can be sweet-talked, over whelmed or subverted by other hard wired tendencies, which are sometimes disguised as "right of reason", is worrisome. If our intelligence is the only edge we have then we must learn to use it better, to sharpen it, as well as understand it's limitations and deficiencies.
If our greater intelligence is the hallmark of our species then we should use it as other species use their distinctive advantages. To use it as cats use stealth for pouncing, as walking stick insects use camouflage - Being advanced through intelligence is to make our intelligence the tool of our survival. If we do this we can solve almost any problem that we are likely to confront in the next 100,000 years.
People with some kind of mental illness is very common, often leading to very bad things; for them and for others. No other species seems to deal with mental issues anywhere near humans. That being said, given how inherently extremely flawed the human mind is, do we really deserve to view ourselves as some kind of advanced species? Seems as if some advanced alien species came along they'd have every right to wipe us out for being such genetic defects.
Animals are susceptible to mental illness too, witness the videos of elephants held in captivity who go nuts. The biggest reason it might be more prevalent in humans is that in nature, the babies with defects don’t get fed, or the mother even kills it. Nature keeps that defective animal from growing up and reproducing while humans of course do not do this. Being ng advanced doesn’t mean there aren’t genetic defects in some members of a species, nature is what it is.
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