Abstract. While growing empirical evidence suggests a continuity between human and non-human psychology, many philosophers still think that only humans can act
You make some really great points. That information on the GOE is very interesting, thank you. I wonder how possible it would be for something like that to happen again. I hadn’t considered the black death and plagues in that way. I wonder how they stack up against humans so far as devastation across the whole world goes, purhaps it may be pretty hard to calculate. I did see this article the other day that says, on average 69% of wildlife vertebrate populations have been wiped since 1970.
It certainly does seem to be the case that if other animals were given the chance they would be as destructive as us. As a group we do maybe show some potential for improving. Our relationship with whales inspires some hope. We were getting close to completely destroying many species of them, but have been able to reverse the trend, largely thanks to Roger Payne.
I wonder how possible it would be for something like that to happen again.
From one point of view that is what humans are doing right now.
The GOE happened because one type of life started filling the atmosphere with a waste gas that was massively determent to other species around them, in their case it was oxygen in its pure form.
What humans are doing now is filling the atmosphere with a waste gas that is massively determent to other species around them in our case it is carbon dioxide.
It certainly does seem to be the case that if other animals were given the chance they would be as destructive as us.
Yes, the main drive of all life is to create more copies of themselves, at all costs and without regard to how it affects others.
When we see a balance in an eco-system, it is not something that has come about by mutual agreement. It is that the various species have fought with each other to a standstill. Each is trying to expand endlessly but has been stopped by all the other competing species trying to do the same.
That is why introduced/novel species can be so destructive to a local eco-system. They are bring to the fight new weapons or tactics that the locals have never seen before and have no defences against.
You make some really great points. That information on the GOE is very interesting, thank you. I wonder how possible it would be for something like that to happen again. I hadn’t considered the black death and plagues in that way. I wonder how they stack up against humans so far as devastation across the whole world goes, purhaps it may be pretty hard to calculate. I did see this article the other day that says, on average 69% of wildlife vertebrate populations have been wiped since 1970.
It certainly does seem to be the case that if other animals were given the chance they would be as destructive as us. As a group we do maybe show some potential for improving. Our relationship with whales inspires some hope. We were getting close to completely destroying many species of them, but have been able to reverse the trend, largely thanks to Roger Payne.
From one point of view that is what humans are doing right now.
The GOE happened because one type of life started filling the atmosphere with a waste gas that was massively determent to other species around them, in their case it was oxygen in its pure form.
What humans are doing now is filling the atmosphere with a waste gas that is massively determent to other species around them in our case it is carbon dioxide.
Yes, the main drive of all life is to create more copies of themselves, at all costs and without regard to how it affects others.
When we see a balance in an eco-system, it is not something that has come about by mutual agreement. It is that the various species have fought with each other to a standstill. Each is trying to expand endlessly but has been stopped by all the other competing species trying to do the same.
That is why introduced/novel species can be so destructive to a local eco-system. They are bring to the fight new weapons or tactics that the locals have never seen before and have no defences against.