I'm fairly certain that we humans all have been raised to believe human beings are superior to all other life forms on Earth. Perhaps not superior in every way possible, but at least in regard to intelligence and consciousness. As we journey through life, that idea often is reinforced by both people and circumstances. We view the concept as a given; no further thought about it is necessary.
Some people believe in it because of religion, I'm guessing. At least, that is likely in terms of the religion in Western World cultures. In those beliefs, humans are the pinnacle of creation. Other animal life, and certainly plants, are viewed as having only a utilitarian purpose vis-a-vis humanity. Forget about microbes. Atheists and perhaps agnostics, as well, seem to believe in it because of little more than Logic. It simply makes sense.
Like most everyone else, for years I bought into the myth of human superiority. How could it not be true? Of course we were meant to dominate this planet. Eventually, though, I came to realize there are other ways of looking at the web of life and our place in it. I didn't experience a single "eureka" moment, nothing like that. It was more like hundreds of those moments, and they stretched out over decades. Because of my education and experience in Agriculture, Biology, and Environmental Geography, most eurekas involved nonhuman animals, plants, and other parts of the natural environment. Then, too, the ignorance (and sometimes, utter stupidity) displayed by we humans relative to our habitat and other life played a part in changing my worldview.
Here are only two little tidbits which helped to bring about about my transformation. Did you know that trees communicate with each other in forests, and "mother trees" nurture nearby seedlings? They do these things by means of symbiotic, micorrhizal fungi. Watch this video by the plant ecologist, Suzanne Simard.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Un2yBgIAxYs&list=WL&index=65&t=33s
This is not based on magical thinking, but rather on solid ecological research. The clip is relatively short, and quite a revelation. The botanist, Diana Beresford-Kroeger, has something similar in a full-length documentary, Call of the Forest: the Forgotten Wisdom of Trees. Both pieces demonstrate scientific evidence supporting the hypothesis that trees have a type of consciousness and intelligence. Not like that of humans, but nonetheless significant.
While we most certainly are unique, humans are but a single strand in the fabric of life on Earth. Our mistaken worldview coupled with our hubris regarding other life have resulted in the current Crisis. A change in our Ethics is critical if we are to survive and thrive in the future. It has taken us decades to cause life-sustaining natural cycles to be on the brink of ruin. We must now re-double our efforts to avoid total disaster. That's not only my opinion. Many other people all across the political spectrum agree.
In my next post, I'll provide a long list of sources which show what's needed and why, plus some of the amazing research going on presently and in the recent past. It's the not-yet-complete bibliography for a short book I've been writing since January of this year.
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Everyone Take Care
