Nature or humanity out of balance?

[Silver]

Originally Posted by hybrid

the knowledge of good and evil.

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I think the question wasn't accurate, in that 'lizard brain' simply means the 'primal brain' ~ a brain at the beginnings of its point in evolution. I don't think the question is apropos.

[hybrid]

Originally Posted by Silvergirl

I think the question wasn't accurate, in that 'lizard brain' simply means the 'primal brain' ~ a brain at the beginnings of its point in evolution. I don't think the question is apropos.

the knowledge of good and evil can be interpreted as the dawn of humans being self-conscious or self aware. (when they ate the fruit they saw that they were naked)


the primal brain has no such function, the brain part responsible for self consciousness was a later development in the evolutionary process of the brain and only humans have it fully developed.

would you not agree that humans acute sense of self and it's overly preoccupied with self is the cause of it's destructive behavior.?

ps. making able to distinguish being destructive and being compassionate is also a result of self consciousness thru self reflection. when the brain switched off self awareness as it usually does in times of emergency, there is no judgment, only actions of what need to be done. when the crisis is over, then self awareness is switch on and then we have the luxury of time to be "humans" again. and as humans we make comment like look at those locusts how destructive, oh those poor dinosaurs, wiped out by a comet.

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Originally Posted by hybrid

the knowledge of good and evil.

Hi Hybrid, Nice one!

[Silver]

would you not agree that humans acute sense of self and it's overly preoccupied with self is the cause of it's destructive behavior.?

I know lots of modern minds who are 'acute'-ly aware of themselves, but they are thoughtful, conscientious individuals with no leaning towards destructiveness. It's a vast generalization for sure. I think many people in modern times have a sense of self without it being acute or with individuals being overly preoccupied with themselves.

[hybrid]

Originally Posted by Silvergirl

I know lots of modern minds who are 'acute'-ly aware of themselves, but they are thoughtful, conscientious individuals with no leaning towards destructiveness. It's a vast generalization for sure. I think many people in modern times have a sense of self without it being acute or with individuals being overly preoccupied with themselves.

yes it seems to be that self-awareness is a double edged sword.

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[Silver]

Originally Posted by hybrid

yes it seems to be that self-awareness is a double edged sword.

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my thoughts exactly...

Originally Posted by Portto

OK. Now, what is it that makes the lizard destructive and the human compassionate?

First, for the sake of clarity, "lizard brain" is a scientific slang term for the amygdalae, the most primitive parts of the human brain, where the base emotions and survival drive spring from. I wasn't saying that lizards specifically are destructive.

But I digress. My point was that all animals have it within themselves to be destructive to their environment. What many call the "balance of nature" is not a balance at all, but a massive, interlocked web of competition for survival. It is only balanced in the sense that a teeter-totter with fifteen kids on either end could be balanced. If one of those kids decides he wants to go play on the swings instead, there's going to be 14 kids flying through the air and 15 with sore butts from smacking into the ground.

We see this with nature all the time. Introduce a single new species to and existing environment and everything is thrown out of whack. Look at the emerald ash borer in the US, or the American gray squirrels pushing out the native red squirrels in England. Animals do not seek a balance, they seek to thrive at all costs, and are only held in check by environment and by other species.

Now, where humans differ is in our ability to seek balance out of choice, rather than having it imposed upon us by outside forces. For example, it may be our instinct to cut down as many redwood trees as possible, since the wood is so durable and resistant to rot, and thus is very useful to us. But it is our choice to limit our cutting, because we can see the damage it causes to the environment. Human intellect and sense of compassion gives us an ability no other Earth species has: foresight. We can foresee the consequences of our actions, and decide if those consequences are ones we wish to avoid.

We don't always to a good job of this, however. But the capacity is there, and that gives me hope.

CS