Why We’re Not Yet Better than Animals

See Dr. Saniotis’ incisive synthesis and culturally revolutionary informative video on animal intelligence in relation to human intelligence:

Principally, due to the threat of nuclear annihilation, run-away anthropogenic climate change, poverty and hunger in the Third World, battery farms, war, crime, inequality, structural racism, and acute classism, we are yet to become the best species.

What we are good at as a species is language and technology.

If our social, political and emotional intelligence matched our prowess at language and technology we would easily claim to be the best species.

Our capacity to reason allows us understandings of the world animals cannot grasp, such as taxonomic knowledge of nature, different species, atomic and sub-atomic knowledge, the scientific method, ‘natural selection’, cosmological understandings about the nature and origins of the universe, knowledge of evolution and meta-evolution, space exploration, and philosophical understandings and innovation, are formidable unique human attributes.

However, animals have an impressive array of abilities and knowledges in the realm of kinaesthetic intelligence, ecological intelligence, memory abilities, and sensory intelligence. The richness of the senses of animals, such as olfactory and auditory senses, and not limited to human preoccupation of the visual sense, is an area we have been chronically underestimating re animals’ sensory experiences and endowment.

There was a period in human history where we lived with ecological intelligence, and where population did not exceed carrying capacity, this was in ‘the hunter gatherer period’ (or the EEA – environment of evolutionary adaptation). In this period we could proudly assert species’ equality with animals without ecocide. Since then we’ve taken a turn for the worst in objectively measuring our greatness: to be guardians and protectors of life on earth and maximising the net positive aspects of sentience in the world (positive meaning, happiness, enchantment, health and well-being) and minimising suffering, are the yardsticks of this greatness mandate. When we do this in a systemised and controlled way, we can proudly assert that we are the undisputed best species.

Until such a time, we have a lot of work to do!