Ants < Cats < Humans < Anything?

[Anirak]

I was sitting in the quiet living room the other day while my cat and dog sat with me in a state of half-asleep / half-awake. I began to think about how long back my cat could possibly remember, and whether he could remember anything outside the house he lives in since he never goes outdoors. It occurred to me that he might actually hate the prison, but then I realized that he had no concept of anything outside of it, so probably had no resentment to or knowledge of his predicament. I felt overwhelmingly sorry for him, having not experienced the outside world at all and seen just how much bigger it is than this house.

My feelings of pity were quickly arrested by feelings of alarm at a simple thought: what if humans are in a similar predicament? Is it so far fetched to believe that like a man looking down on a cat, and a cat looking down on an ant, we too are being "looked down" upon by some higher force? This doesn't necessarily have to be a personal god; it could simply be a machine that calculates possibilities and chooses the best decision.

It's a very simple point, and is reminiscent of Plato's cave allegory in that for the people inside the closed system it would be impossible to determine with full certainty whether the affirmative or negative were true. My final contention is that unless one has personal experience that has swayed the individual in one direction or another, it is impossible to say whether or not a higher conscious force is at work or not. If one wants to argue that either it (1) most likely does not exist; or that (2) it most likely does exist; then I would accuse you of falling into an overzealous trap.

[dal7timgar]

Humans < Vulcans

They find us too amusing to invade.

DT

[vazilizaitsev89]

Klingons

[Dre Crabbe]

Zerg.

[willancs]

Originally Posted by Anirak

what if humans are in a similar predicament?

Maybe, but so what. We don't realise, and we're happy as we are. If we eventually discover that we are indeed "in a similar predicament" then my views would change. But at the moment, who cares?

Also, this seems a needless complexity.

[Anirak]

Originally Posted by willancs

Maybe, but so what. We don't realise, and we're happy as we are. If we eventually discover that we are indeed "in a similar predicament" then my views would change. But at the moment, who cares?

Also, this seems a needless complexity.

You said, "at this moment, who cares?" It is the scope of philosophy to discuss these various issues, so if you indeed "do not care," then why are you participating in the discussion?

Furthermore, I'm not sure what you think I'm turning into a "complexity" (I do not know if that is exactly what you are saying, since the grammar is a little confusing). I'm creating an analogy that could possibly help us further our knowledge of our own situation - there's nothing to complicate. If you are trying to say my analogy is complicated, I'm not sure how much more elementary it could get (Edit: I even worded the topic title such that a small child could understand).

[dal7timgar]

Originally Posted by vazilizaitsev89

Klingons

What!

They're animals. Kirk said so.

DT

[KikoSanchez]

I have personal experiences everyday that show me their is nothing bigger, so I tend to sway toward the idea that there isn't such a higher force.

[Rust]

I think the very fact that you have to ask that question speaks volumes.

Do the cats have to? Do the ants have to?

[Anirak]

Originally Posted by Rust

I think the very fact that you have to ask that question speaks volumes.

Do the cats have to? Do the ants have to?

Do the cats and ants have to what? You didn't quote anything, so I'm not sure what you're talking about.