Human situation is not normal

The most dangerous myths are those that we do not see. Humanitarianism – the belief that humans are essentially separate from the rest of nature – is one of those myths. It is included in religious belief, textbooks, political campaigns, advertising, and daily language. This global view is not hidden because it is mysterious – it is hidden because it is everywhereI took an emotional matter from it, and rarely called or interrogated. This is exactly where its strength lies. I think the human exception is the most powerful belief in our time.

But what surprised me most in writing Monobidate monkey Just the extent of the infiltration of this belief to infiltrate the flag – an institution aimed at challenging our biases, not strengthening it.

For example, in the field of primitive diseases, we routinely compare The intelligence of the captive chimpanzee-It is moved in very restricted environments of man-made-with the presence of completely independent Western humans. Then we conclude that humans are Idraka. But this is not a fair comparison. Imagine a child test that arose in isolation and conclusion that they have no sympathy or desire to cooperate. When we notice our closest living relatives in rich social contexts, we are witnessing Amazing social behavior.

When we measure the world with a human -made ruler, the other species will inevitably come.

Or take the search for self -awareness. For decades, we thought only humans and some other main types can recognize themselves in mirrors, which is a supposed standard for self -awareness. But the mirror test is bias towards vision. Dogs experience the world primarily by smell. They pass Shamel mirror exam Easily-distinguishing self-awareness in the dominant sensory method.

When we measure the world with a human -made ruler, the other species will inevitably come.

However, we continue to deal with the human brain as a plan for intelligence and awareness. We assume that the minds are special only as much as our minds are like; There is a hierarchical sequence, with us comfortably with us at the top. Evolutionary plans tend Enhancing this opinionImagine a stylish linear path: bacteria, plants, worms, fish, mice, dogs, monkeys … along the way to us. Even your classified name –Primaryfrom PrimaryAnd this means “from the first rank” – the same assumption.

This is not just a bad evolutionary thinking – it is a deep failure of imagination. And its results are long -term. Human exception supports the belief that the earth exists only for human benefit, which reduces other species to mere resources. This mentality justifies exploitation not only for animals and other ecosystems, but also Others Those who are considered “without humanity.” But when we expose and challenge this myth, we only disturb our assumptions – we open the door to improve science and deeper relationships with the rest of the living world.

Many people treat human exceptional as natural results. But recent studies in developmental and cultural psychology indicate otherwise. The beliefs in human exceptional are not an inevitable consequence of our biology – they instead reflect a cultural vision of the world, which has been largely formed and condemned to the dominant Western traditions.

When researchers presented American children and adults Ethical dilemmasLike saving human or multiple animals-people prefer an overwhelming majority, even when the preference included 100 dogs or pigs. Children did not. They often chose to save multiple animals over one human life, and to evaluate human and inhuman life more similar. It was this style now Remedy Multiple European countries. In such western contexts, children are also more likely than adults to judge a mistake in damaging animals for food, and less likely to ignore information about animal minds that are usually considered food.

These results indicate that the central moral frameworks that adults maintain are not the backwardness of biological payment. It appears over time through cultural learning – especially when children are increasingly exposed to methods that other forms of life are used and valued in our society.

Children often choose to save multiple animals on one human being.

The research through human cultures also reveals that the human exception Away from a global point of view. Many original and non -Western knowledge systems reject such natural hierarchical serials. They get to know animals, plants, rivers, forests and other mountains such as relatives: living organisms, the worker embedded in a common moral and environmental world. Far from immature or naive, these are advanced costumes It is based on thousands of years From observation, relationship and reciprocity with the living world. Within these frameworks, the idea that humans are separate or superior to simply do not hold.

writing Monobidate monkey I presented me to many alternative cosmologists and traditions that reject the ideology of the exceptional humanitarian. These global glasses do not simply criticize ideological – they are typical to live in a greater balance with the rest of the natural world (as only, studies reveal this The lands run by the indigenous people were often Equal or higher biological diversity Officially protected areas). Facing these alternative relations revealed my education and education. This made me familiar with the cultural and historical powers – especially colonialism and capitalism – that helped teach the legend of humanity under the guise of progress and science.

If we see ourselves separate from nature, then we deal with the earth not as a society we belong to, but as a set of resources to extract, manage or “reform”. The realization of this has changed how I think about the environmental crisis. It is easy to blame global warming on fossil fuels, industrial surplus, or political inaction. But we do not only need to reform these institutions – we need new relationship With the living world, the story is different from who we are inside.

Some confirm today that humans are Most of the evolutionary “successful” species. Success, in this opinion, is measured by environmental domination – its energy to spread all over the world while manipulating and controlling our environments. But in reality, the most flexible ecosystems – the most sustainable ways of living – are not based on hegemony, but on interconnection. What if the cooperation was the college through which the evolutionary “success” was measured? In environmental science, cooperation and exchange cooperation and necessary for life, such as competition and predation. After modern research That more than two thirds of the publications in the magazine ecology The “competition” study, while less than 2 percent is achieved in “cooperation”. We have built our scientific models on struggle and individualism, although life on Earth combines relations and joint development.

PandeMic Covid-19 mode nude this global view. It is possible that, partly, due to the human infringement of wild habitats. However, media novels celebrated the ingenuity of man in Vaccine While ignoring the systematic exploitation that made the disease out of the disease possible. Military Language –“War” or “battle” Against the virus – nature leaks as the enemy to be invaded and destroyed again. Similar thinking surfaces in climate discussions, as technologies such as solar geological engineering or colonization of Mars are salvation through more domination.

These reforms depend on the same as the logic of control: we can surpass the borders of the planet rather than learn to live within it. They assure us that humanity will prevail after all, but it repeats the same mentality that brought us to the brink of the abyss in the first place! We are not above nature – we express it. Our bodies, minds, and cultures have evolved in deep intertwining with the Earth for millions of years. Imagine ourselves exempt from ecosystems is not sight; It is an illusion. This does not mean that technical innovations have no role in dealing with climate change. But I think some of them are better to understand that they are new – and it can be said that it is more powerful – than the exceptional human.

We often confuse domination with success, and mastery with a real understanding. But the real insight comes from Humility– equivalent to what we do not know, listen to others (including other species), and learn about the boundaries of our traditional frameworks. writing Monobidate monkey He was modest in the best meaning. It has taught me that seeing ourselves clearly – not as rulers, but as participants in a larger network – is one of the most urgent scientific and moral challenges in our time.

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• Christine Web

  Spread on September 3, 2025

  Christine Web is an assistant professor in the Department of Environmental Studies at New York University, where she is part of the animal studies program. She is a widely trained preliminary pathologist and has experience in social behavior, awareness and passion. It works with non -human mainly in a variety of places and cooperates with scientists from social and human sciences to re -perceive the role of science in the increasing charge of granting the moral situation of other animals. Her work has been covered by popular outlets, including New York Times, Washington Post, National GeographicAnd BBC.