“For instance, on the planet Earth, man had always assumed that he was more intelligent than dolphins because he had achieved so much—the wheel, New York, wars and so on—whilst all the dolphins had ever done was muck about in the water having a good time. But conversely, the dolphins had always believed that they were far more intelligent than man—for precisely the same reasons.”
Indeed! Though I guess what I'm describing about my own transition is me applying what I once limited to primates, cetaceans, large mammals and certain bird species to all animals.
I guess when I was younger, I was able to justify it on the basis of what I concluded to be those species capable of "higher-order" thinking, when it's very apparent we're not sure if there's even that line to be drawn.
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“For instance, on the planet Earth, man had always assumed that he was more intelligent than dolphins because he had achieved so much—the wheel, New York, wars and so on—whilst all the dolphins had ever done was muck about in the water having a good time. But conversely, the dolphins had always believed that they were far more intelligent than man—for precisely the same reasons.”
- Douglas Adams
Indeed! Though I guess what I'm describing about my own transition is me applying what I once limited to primates, cetaceans, large mammals and certain bird species to all animals.
I guess when I was younger, I was able to justify it on the basis of what I concluded to be those species capable of "higher-order" thinking, when it's very apparent we're not sure if there's even that line to be drawn.