We are a rather tragic species suffering from a delusion that we are apart from all others, brutalising and destroying our way through our days, rather than acknowledging our role as a part of the interwoven, interdependent network of life and living that is planet Earth.
Image from Sarah Richter, Pixabay
Another comment that often appears amongst the arsenal of tired old
excuses that humans cling to in their attempts to justify the use of
members of other species, centres around presumptions of superior
intelligence when compared with every other species on the planet.
When asked to provide examples, reference is sometimes made to
landmarks of human endeavour such as writing symphonies, great works
of literature, major inventions through the ages, and travelling to
the moon, amongst others.
Well yes. These are indeed breathtaking achievements, but let’s just
stop for a moment and get a grip on reality. Given that we, as a
species, currently number over 8.1 billion individuals, there are
relatively few humans whose names ring out across the centuries as
beacons of intellectual prowess. Da Vinci, Archimedes, Newton,
Tesla, Hawking and several others are names that stand out. For the
rest of us – the vast majority, that is – no one is ever going to
wax lyrical about our towering accomplishments.
What actually is intelligence?
Most of us are simply ordinary people, even though we are surrounded
by technological marvels. Our expertise extends to knowing where the
‘on’ and ‘off’ switches are. If one of us were to be left somewhere
with no tools or weapons, no instructions, no raw materials and no
access to Google, I suspect that no one would ever be able to invent
and create a computer for themselves, or write a symphony, or travel
to the moon, and rocket scientists would not need to open their
ranks to any newcomers. In fact many if not most of us would be
seriously challenged to create some form of shelter or find
something to eat without a handy supermarket.
To quote Isaac Newton in a letter in 1676:
“If I have seen a little further it is by standing on the shoulders
of Giants.”
Although this is similar to a phrase used by the 12th century John
of Salisbury, it may even pre-date him as he was known to have
adapted and refined the work of others. Which really serves to
illustrate the point that as humans, we are standing on the
shoulders of giants, and the majority of us would never have
attained the comforts and wonders that surround us, had it not been
for the accumulated efforts of others. Thus, for us to claim some
level of superior intelligence based on the achievements of the
intellectual giants of our species could not even be called tenuous.
It’s actually laughable.
So what about ordinary people like me?
So what about just general, common-or-garden intelligence then? When
we look deeper into definitions of human intelligence, we find many
definitions and measures and it seems like the jury is still out on
that one. There are theories about so many aspects; linguistic,
logical, spatial, bodily, interpersonal, intrapersonal. There is no
single definition that encompasses everything and I’ve been on the
planet long enough to know that few of us would shine in even one of
these areas, far less all of them.
Yet it is abundantly clear that despite the limitations that the
majority of us have, whatever method by which we decide to define
intelligence, however nebulous, however narrow, is the yardstick by
which we as a species, generally presume to measure every other. It
speaks to our elitist and speciesist mindset that we find and in
fact expect to find articles about intelligence in the human animal
separate from articles about intelligence in other animal species.
Looking for the sake of comparison at pages about intelligence in
other animal species, I was not particularly surprised to find that
the subject seemed to be broken up into a series of anecdotes, many
of which are about individuals whose actions were in some way
thought notable, combined with sparse paragraphs that say so little
about a whole species as to be almost insulting, as well as one or
two more lengthy pieces discussing wider issues such as theory of
mind in animals. Our recognition of their skills is grudging even at
best, frequently couched in surprised or patronising terms,
determined that whatever we discover is not indicative of anything
that would elevate their status to being worthy of their birthright
to live their lives free from the violence and brutality of our
merciless exploitation.
Life in a mirror
And in just the same way as our definition of ourselves as ‘animal
lovers’ astonishingly disregards the copious bloodbath for which we
are each personally responsible when we refuse to be vegan, our
eager definition of ourselves as ‘intelligent’ includes pinnacles of
human achievement that we personally can scarcely even understand,
far less ascribe to. Despite this, we claim this ‘human
intelligence’ as if it were our own, and we use it as a cudgel with
which we bludgeon our way through the lives, the bodies and the
habitats of our fellow earthlings; arrogantly assuming that although
we have never taken the time to think about how this supposed
intelligence manifests itself in the creature we see in the mirror,
we are safe to assume that every other species is inferior.
And what exactly is that creature in the mirror doing with all their
intelligence? Well I know what the one in my mirror does. She cares
for those for whom she feels responsible, looks after the place she
thinks of as home, struggles to find a way to acquire the resources
she needs to keep herself and those who depend on her fed, clothed,
warm, safe and sheltered from the weather. Occasionally she’ll
write, she’ll talk with friends, gather information about what
others are doing with their time. It’s what I do. And let’s be
honest, isn’t that what most of us do?
Recently I have shared a video or two that have been greeted with
much delight – I’ll link them at the end. One depicts a tiny bird
carefully and with consummate skill, sewing leaves together to
create a shelter where she can build her nest. Another video gave an
insight into the complex and fascinating life of members of the crow
species.
And do you know what they were doing? They were looking after those
for whom they were responsible, looking after the places they
regarded as home, struggling to acquire the resources they needed to
keep themselves and their dependants fed, safe and sheltered from
the weather, gathering information about what others were doing with
their time.
Common ground, shared priorities
In short, we have more that connects us with every other species
than we care to admit. Each of us is simply living from day to day,
caring for family, staying fed and sheltered. That is the level on
which most of us function. And when we drop the assumption that
we’re so superior to other species, other questions present
themselves. Who the hell are we to measure all others by the
standards we set – not for ourselves because we know we’re not in
the same ballpark – but rather for a few individuals of our species?
Who are we to decide that other species are not important enough to
live unless they do so exclusively for our interests? And even – how
do we actually know that we are the only species in which
individuals come along every so often whose brilliance outshines us
all?
We are a rather tragic species suffering from a delusion that we are
apart from all others, brutalising and destroying our way through
our days, rather than acknowledging our role as a part of the
interwoven, interdependent network of life and living that is planet
Earth. These delusions of ours are dragging the planet we share to
the brink of an abyss of our making, a beckoning cataclysm of
disease, pollution and destruction caused by our arrogant assumption
that our shared world and everyone who has fur or feathers, scales
or wings, have no purpose other than to serve our petty whims and
convenience. The end is perilously close, and time is running out
for us to stop the behaviour that is causing the problem.
If we don’t wake up, and wake up very soon, it will be too late for
every one of us, and being responsible for planetary disaster on an
apocalyptic scale is hardly something that any intelligent species
would do.
Be vegan.