alt Hacker NewsWe are the only creatures that can choose compassion over selfishness. The rest of creation is on auto-pilot, guided by and incorporating the Creator's loving compassion for us in their every behavior.
Our intelligence is not only on a far different order than theirs via our capability for abstract thought (not oft used, TBF), but we also have a moral compass (conscience) that tries to influence our behavior towards the selflessly compassionate and away from the selfishly callous. We can choose either, the free will being our real distinguishing feature and is the reason we have a conscience and access to mind.
Ask your dog about their intelligence, and they will reply, "So long as you keep feeding me, I'll keep licking my everywhere, and then licking your face. So keep it coming, or I'll have to show you who the alpha is around heeerrrre."
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> Ask your dog about their intelligence, and they will reply
If your dog replies, you either have a truly exceptional dog with human-like vocal cords, or need to see a psychiatrist.
That we are more intelligent is nothing more than an evolutionary decision - our ancestors decided to lead lifestyles where trading base energy consumption for higher mental capabilities made sense.
Other creatures are not on auto-pilot, even if their thought process ranges from simpler to outright primitive. When dolphins endanger themselves to chase away sharks to save humans they go against instincts and self preservation (and thereby anything you'd consider autopilot). On the other hand, humans are the ones that have turned averse to danger and anything out of the ordinary, preferring to stick to "auto-pilot" for safety.
In fact, I'd argue that the supposed response from your dog sounds quite like a human: as long as you keep paying me, I'll do the same mindless daily routine without question.
> We are the only creatures that can choose compassion over selfishness.
You don't think orangutans or other intelligent apes can do this? There are lots of experiments and anecdotes you'd have to explain away.
> The rest of creation is on auto-pilot, guided by and incorporating the Creator's loving compassion for us in their every behavior.
From the gentle kiss of a bee sting, to the loving nibble of a shark bite.
> The rest of creation is on auto-pilot, guided by and incorporating the Creator's loving compassion for us in their every behavior.
Proof?
I agree with you. It's a lonely world for those that think and feel like you and I do. You are not alone.
> the Creator
Who?
I can see why you might believe that, but it's simply not true. There are countless well documented examples and scientific studies that show that animals exhibit all the traits you describe. Chimpanzees show compassion by consoling victims of aggression [0], being especially attentive to others with whom they have a closer bond. They have friends and relatives just like we do, they value those social structures just like we do, and they choose to give them emotional support, without getting anything in return.
Rats try and free restrained cage mates [1] and share their food with them, even though from a selfish perspective it would be better for them to eat the food and not share. They understand the other is suffering and try to alleviate it, just like we do.
Neural imaging on animals has shown that their brains both have the same features that ours do for these purposes and they use them in similar ways. All of this is not even remotely controversial, it's well understood and thoroughly studied across numerous decades.
[0] https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF00302695
[1] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22158823/