Mind Matters Natural and Artificial Intelligence News and Analysis

CategoryHuman exceptionalism

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This image portrays anthropomorphized dogs and cats dressed in vintage clothing, engaged in a serious game of poker in an old-fashioned room.Gambling concept. AI generated.

Animals Taught Us Culture Though They Don’t Have It Themselves?

Researchers tie themselves into some odd knots trying to demonstrate that humans are just like other life forms
There seems no sense of embarrassment over claims that defy evidence — so long as the reality of human exceptionalism is trashed. Read More ›
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Heartwarming interaction between children and chimpanzee showcasing human animal bond in zoo setting

Do Humans and Chimpanzees Differ by Only 1 Percent?

Of course not, but now that a more likely genetics figure has been published, some researchers are having a surprisingly hard time accepting it
15%? Whew. Genetics makes a difference in how life forms look and act… So Crick and Watson, Collins and Venter and all the rest were onto something after all… Read More ›
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Human Skull Desertification Climate Change Drought Death Arid Land Environmental Crisis

IVF Clinic Bomber Infected by Anti-Humanism

According to media reports, Bartkus, who died at the scene, was a “‘pro-mortalist’ (believing death is preferable to living) or an ‘anti-natalist’ (believing no more human beings should be born).”
Culturally accepted human-phobia can be dangerous. There are mentally unbalanced people out there who don’t see misanthropy as merely an intellectual mind game. Read More ›
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Spaceship flies near the amazing blue planet earth, view from the window. Travel and tourists in space, concept. Beautiful space view of the Earth with cloud formation. Hotel in space

A Challenge to Pale Blue Dot-ology: Earth Is Significant

The “pale blue dot lost in space” view of Earth seems to brand science as an intellectual property of materialist atheism. And evidence isn’t what keeps it going
Perhaps more of us should start calling out these assumptions that arise not from observing nature but from the intellectual commitments of those who make them. Read More ›
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Mushroom growing in a landscape of a strange exoplanet

ET Doesn’t Need to Exist in Order to Do His Real Job

His real job seems to be to support a lame argument about why humans are not exceptional. But the very idea of his existence works just as well
The search for ET itself does the philosophical work of attempting to deflate human “self-importance.” Finding anything is a bonus. Read More ›
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alien planet landscape, beautiful forest the surface of an exoplanet

Why Life Beyond Earth Would Prove Human Exceptionalism

A science writer thinks that finding life on other planets in our galaxy would somehow put a dent in our “self-importance”
Actually, human minds created sophisticated instruments that project our understanding light years away, using the scientific method that we created. Read More ›
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A human head with glowing neurons in the brain. Generative AI

The Nature of Mind, Free Will, and Human Uniqueness: A Deep Dive

The book Minding the Brain sparks some interesting discussions about what is really unique about the human mind
Many philosophers have concluded both from experience and careful consideration that mental phenomena cannot be reduced to neural mechanisms. Read More ›
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Highly detailed close up portrait of an adult Raven in Yellowstone National Park, species name Corvus corax

At Quanta: High Bird Intelligence Developed on a Different Path

High intelligence developing on different paths is consistent with convergent evolution. It’s also consistent with design in nature
It is ironic that otherwise intelligent people must play the “we’re just another animal” game while demanding attention for ideas that only humans can give. Read More ›
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A post-apocalyptic cityscape devoid of life, with crumbling buildings, overgrown vegetation, and the remnants of civilization scattered throughout the desolate landscape, Generative AI

At a Science Journal: Humanity Is Just So Doomed

Opinions differ as to the details of what will wipe us all out — or maybe not
In one version, the coming human eclipse originated in a sin against Darwinism: destroying the competition. Read More ›
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Abstract bacteria, probiotics, gram positive bacteria bacteria and viruses of various shapes against a light background. Concept of science, medicine. Microbiology background. 3d illustration.

In Moral Terms, Are Microbes More Important Than People?

Jeff Sebo advocates widening the moral circle to include, plants, microbes, and computers in a sort of radical equality
With all the talk of morality, I was particularly struck by a category of moral “patients” he fails to discuss: gestating human babies. Read More ›
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Front view portrait of cute African-American girl lying on bed with big pet dog and smiling, copy space

Clinical Psychologist Defends Human Exceptionalism

Gregg Henriques is responding to an evolutionary biologist who sees recognition of human uniqueness as “speciesism,” akin to racism and sexism
From a secular humanist perspective, he says roughly what Aristotle (384– 322 BC) and Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) would say about our unique human nature. Read More ›
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Bonobos in natural habitat. Green natural background.

Defining an Ape Theory of Mind Into Existence

We are told that “recognizing when someone else lacks information” has been thought to be a distinctly human trait. Really?
The researchers have set out to show that bonobos have a theory of mind. Are they willing to consider that dogs might have a similar theory of mind? Read More ›
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Four silhouettes of people looking at the night sky with a telescope.

Vice President Vance Defends Human Exceptionalism at Munich

The idea that humans are special is under increasing attack by some of society’s most powerful political and cultural forces
Oppression, genocide, discrimination, slavery, and other evils arise from refusing to see us all as equals based upon our common humanity. Read More ›
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Playful Interaction Between Two Cats, One Black and One Tabby Gray, and a Wooden Cat Puzzle Toy with Balls with a Scratching Post

Science Writing: Cat Intelligence Compared With Baby Intelligence

Cat intelligence is of a rather different kind from dog intelligence
Cat intelligence is often underrated but the human mind belongs to an entirely different order of being from the feline mind. Read More ›
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Training of dog. Close up of pet keeper holding treats over blurred background of adorable golden retriever. Excited fluffy dog waiting for favorite snack while executing sit command

Science Writing: Dog Intelligence Compared With Baby Intelligence

It’s an odd question because what we should be asking is, “Are kittens and puppies smarter than babies?”
The comparison doesn’t really work but it underlines the *doctrine* that human intelligence is just another type of animal intelligence. Read More ›
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europe; UK, England, Wiltshire, Stonehenge winter moon

The Subtle Ways That Science Writing Erases Human Exceptionalism

Stone tool use among animals versus the Stone Age provides a useful illustration of the tendency
The assumed equivalence between animal behavior and the human mind is a feature of contemporary science beliefs, not of evidence. Read More ›
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cosmic symphony resonating throughout the universe with celestial bodies emitting harmonic frequencies that interweave to create a tapestry of cosmic music echoing through the void of space

Liberal Prof: Intelligent Design Is Not Just for Conservatives

Robert Shedinger’s findings certainly changed his perception of the nature of the controversy over Darwinism
He told colleagues he is planning a new book, tentatively titled “Why Liberals Should Ditch Darwin and Consider Intelligent Design.” Read More ›
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prehistoric caveman standing by a fire inside a cave, holding a spear, wearing fur clothing, and gazing into the flames with intensity.

Neanderthals Used a “High Tech” Method for Making Glue

High tech for the times they lived in, that is. They had to figure out why the lower tech method got poor results and develop a more sophisticated one
Neanderthals cannot be the missing link that many paleontologists are looking for. But if the human mind has no history, there is no missing link. Read More ›
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Prehistoric Stone Tools

At SciAm: When did human ancestors start using stone tools?

Setting aside the question of whether the various groups mentioned in the article are in fact our ancestors, stone tool use is not even confined to primates
It’s not stone tool use that is exclusive to humans; vultures can do that. It’s the ability to form abstract ideas — like the study of tool use among animals. Read More ›
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Two chimpanzees on a large rock in the zoo.

Study: Great Apes Point to How Human Language May Have Evolved

What’s revealing in these types of studies is not what the researchers find but what the science media choose to make of them
In reality, where language is concerned, there is a vast gulf fixed. It is not between primates and other mammals but between humans and all other life forms. Read More ›