Interesting article on patheos.com. This stuff/channel is right down my alley (things I like to think and wonder about). Here is an excerpt, maybe the conclusion, from the article:
Are Humans and Other Animals Altruistic?
Songwriter Tom Waits says, “We are monkeys with money and guns.” If the Eastern worldview is correct that “self” is a construct, soul is a fiction, and free will is (at least, largely) an illusion, then any bright line between humans and other animals blurs or disappears, and the world becomes much more understandable.
It seems reasonable to me that “unselfish” behavior in animals or humans can be similarly and variously explained by some combination of altruism, protective instincts, and reciprocal behavior. Why would we assume that humans are different than other animals, that humans are inherently “good” or “bad,” or that altruistic behavior in humans or other animals is NOT natural?
What is the “special sauce” that makes humans different from other animals? Some people think that we have “free will.” Why did you decide to get out of bed? Were you awake, bored or hungry? We call that agency or choice or will. Why did your dog decide to get out of bed? Was he awake, bored or hungry? We call that chemistry or conditioning or circumstance. Simply instincts.
What is the difference between the “choices” that we make and the instincts that drive behavior in other animals? Why would we assume that humans are NOT subject to the same instincts?
So, what do you think?
Does anything there strike your fancy? Or, as an old prof of mine used to say, "Questions, comments, war stories?"
(by PrimalSoup)
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