this post was submitted on 12 Sep 2023
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Okay, if we're getting serious about it, I'm not sure I agree cruelty scales up alongside intelligence. It's an interesting take, but, as you say, it's an entirely human concept which doesn't really exist outside of our own conceived morality and can't be applied to beings which aren't capable of understanding it.
Put it this way: a cat batting a mouse around isn't considering its actions cruel or even considering its actions in a wider context at all. A human doing the same would be doing both. However, by that logic, animals aren't capable of any other abstract thought such as compassion, empathy and altruism. We are. It might be the case that everything abstract scales up with intelligence which, yes, leads to concepts such as 'cruelty' but also all the other amazing shit humans are capable of.
@GelatinGeorge, Animals may very well show empathy, altruism and compassion, as shown in countless cases (hippos helping a young zebra cross the river full of crocodiles, a bear saving a crow from drowning in a river, elephants obviously in mourning contemplations in front of skeletons of their species, etc.). This is not the difference, it is cruelty against one's own or other species for pure fun and even sport, this is properly human behavior.