Anthropocentric Narcissism

Few people would claim - occasionally due to fear of politically correct repercussions - that they are "better" than someone with, say, Downs Syndrome. Why, then, is it perfectly acceptable to claim superiority to animals based logically in greater cognitive complexity and abilities? Where do we draw the line among sentient beings?

Claiming superiority based on species is a tautological argument, thus the reliance on cognitive superiority, but that claim was once (and still is occasionally) used against black people, women, Jews, etc. So again, where do we draw the line?

When one is simply born with greater cognitive abilities than another, that fact does not connote superiority or greater virtue and certainly does not justify exploitation, abuse, torture and murder of claimed "inferior" beings. There is no "line" that ever justifies such treatment whether based on race, gender, species or nationality. This is why anthropocentrism, and any "centrism" for that matter, is dangerous. There is no "center" of the universe. Centrality of this nature, like dualism, is a construct, and constructs are created and used for individual benefit.

I would suggest that if one must make comparisons at all, such comparisons may only be based on merit. What have you done lately with your cognitive abilities? Ironically, the people who tend to claim cognitive and thus moral superiority to animals are those who a) have the least cognitive ability of the human race or b) are too fucking lazy to use it.

Drones

Disclaimer: The following post, like many/most of my posts, is extremely biased. Also, what I mean by "stupid people" is either people who deliberately or inadvertently forgo "thinking" about their existence in the world or the effect thereof or people who think that their interests/actions are beneficial when in reality (yes, my perception of reality) they are self-serving, ego-driven and damaging to a large portion of the world.

So, I just watched a hair tutorial online...yeah, I did that...and the girl who was giving the tutorial was incredibly ditzy, but she seemed to be a genuinely nice person. It occurred to me, however, that doing her hair and makeup, and talking about doing her hair and makeup, likely constitutes a good percentage of her life. So I started thinking: stupid people are not innately assholes. They may have a negative or detrimental effect on the world around them, but it is generally inadvertent. There are two primary issues at hand: a) because they are lazy (they are not simply ignorant - stupidity is a choice, albeit a subconscious one), they are sheep - they will do whatever the corporate oligarchy wants them to do - consume unsustainably, carelessly compete with their fellow humans for scarce resources, etc. - because to do otherwise would require effort and thought, and b) because they seek only the easeful and pleasurable existence of immediate gratification, they have no consideration for or awareness of the effect that ease and pleasure is having on the world around them. They have no intention of hurting anyone or anything; this effect is just a byproduct of their stupidity and one of which they may never gain awareness.

Further, because they likely come from stupid stock or are rebelling against unstupid stock, and because they surround themselves with a stupid community, they are rarely confronted with the suggestion or option to discontinue stupidity perpetuation. If and when they are, they either shut down (Ugh, thinking!) or get defensive (must maintain easeful and pleasurable lifestyle).

Intentionally stupid people (Republicans, pro-life activists, etc.) genuinely believe they are doing the right thing. For instance, wealth and "progression" over sustainability is fine because the Rapture is about to happen anyway.

Further, it is possible that part of the reason my students can't/won't think critically or analyze anything (aside from shitty K-12 education and years of consumerist indoctrination) is because they are not only living solely out of the ego rather than the essential self, but they are even fluttering around the surface of that. Intentionally stupid people are at least aware of their own opinions, motivations and interests, to a certain extent, however ego-driven. Inadvertently stupid people know or think only about what is fleetingly fun and easy. There is little if any thought of where their motivations originate and where their actions will take them.