Why do we need to respect other forms of intelligence?
We humans believe that we are the pinnacle of evolution. We believe that we are gifted with innate intelligence, and we are entitled to dominate other species like no other species on earth. We disregard other forms of intelligence and look down on other species. We feel other species are subservient and can be exploited to our benefit.
We fail to see or appreciate other forms of intelligence because we define intelligence in human terms. We use human intelligence as a yardstick to compare and relate to other species. We use human intelligence as a gold standard and ignore other forms of intelligence that the plant and animal kingdom possess.
Do you know that plants communicate among themselves?
Recently, many research papers have been published worldwide about the communication between the trees through mycorrhiza (fungus: mykos & root:riza). It is a complicated underground network termed as Wood Wide Web.
It is proven that plants can learn and react to sounds and smells. We cannot fathom these plant communications using our human intelligence as a yardstick. We need a different language to understand plants' way of living.
How about animals?
We humans feel animals don’t have adequate intelligence, emotions, or consciousness. Now with the advancement of technologies, we started to understand them better. We began to unlearn and relearn lots of things about animals. Now we acknowledge various forms of intelligence in the animal kingdom. Some of the intelligence we can only envy and awe.
Be it a decentralized brain structure in octopus, or a better short-term memory of Gorillas or birds, and whales using the earth's magnetic fields for navigating across the vast stretches of the planet.
Animals like elephants display altruism, self-awareness, and a range of emotions like happiness, compassion, and mourning the death of loved ones.
Are humans a single entity?
We humans are not a single entity, we exist with help of many organism in our ecosystem. Our body contains trillions of microorganisms outnumbering our human cells by 10:1. We depend on various life forms, and we are not a singular species. We don’t exist without these symbiotic relationships.
Why do we need to reimagine our intelligence?
We need reimagination and define intelligence. Our intelligence is framed based on on our cerebral power. It is proven that there is many forms of intelligence in the plant and animal kingdom. Every living things has its intelligence, which cannot be defined purely by human intelligence form.
We humans exisits because of ecosystem that we livein. We fail to appreciate that plants and animals are life forms. We objectify other species and not treat them as a subject. We fail to appreciate that we are part of the ecosystem where plants and animals play an essential role. Our sustenance depends on the ecosystem that we are living in.
It is time for us to reimagine human intelligence. We need to figure out a way to show respect and co-exist with all the species on earth.
