Intentional Fire-Spreading by “Firehawk” Raptors in Northern Australia

Re:Intentional Fire-Spreading by “Firehawk” Raptors in North... by stupidcar on Friday January 05, 2018 @11:01AM (#16079373)

But the opposite view could just as easily be used as a justification: I.e. "We're just animals, no different from any other. So anything we do is a part of nature, and we shouldn't second guess it, any more than any other animal would second guess its instincts."

I think we need to recognise that we are, at least, unique. And that we have a unique ability to affect the world, for good or ill, that sets us apart from other animals. That shouldn't be an excuse for hubris, but it should be reflected in how we view ourselves as a species.

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Re:Intentional Fire-Spreading by “Firehawk” Raptors in North... by pygy_ on Friday January 05, 2018 @04:56PM (#16082062)

I mostly agree with you, but I would frame things differently.

We are animals, and everything we do is part of nature.

Nature isn't either inherently good or evil, and natural processes can be self-destructive.

And while we probably don't have qualitatively unique features we distinguish ourselves quantitatively on many axes, especially when it comes to storing and transmitting information and therefore influencing the rest of the world.

We may be more powerful than other species, but I'm afraid that on the knowledge/wisdom scale, we're only good enough to be dangerous. Seeing ourselves as a part of nature is necessary to limit the damage we do.

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Re:Intentional Fire-Spreading by “Firehawk” Raptors in North... by anigbrowl on Friday January 05, 2018 @02:43PM (#16081053)

This argument is frequently deployed in numerous political contexts.

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Re:Intentional Fire-Spreading by “Firehawk” Raptors in North... by padobson on Friday January 05, 2018 @11:34AM (#16079605)

But the opposite view could just as easily be used as a justification

Agreed. Human animals will always find pseudo-rational reasons to do nefarious things.

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Re:Intentional Fire-Spreading by “Firehawk” Raptors in North... by dasil003 on Friday January 05, 2018 @11:39AM (#16079635)

...and to define things as nefarious.

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Re:Intentional Fire-Spreading by “Firehawk” Raptors in North... by ieatfood on Friday January 05, 2018 @12:15PM (#16079889)

That's the fruit of knowledge of good and evil, isn't it?

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