In class we have discussed that it is imperative to our understanding of evolution and natural selection that no one species is more advanced than another. It is a fundamental principle that also leads to the understanding that as species evolve, it is not with the goal in mind of being a “perfect” or the best species on the planet. Instead, a species evolves to be as well adapted to its current environment as possible (and of course it is not doing that by conscious choice but by natural selection).

We all have a grasp on these concepts. What I did not know was that some have inflated these ideas to an extreme. According to this video (see link below) there is a growing population of people who believe that because humans are technically no “better” than any other species that we should depopulate for the sake of the life of all other species. These extremists argue that humans are a plague upon the Earth that are destroying the planet for all other organisms. They say this simply because of the fact that humans are no more advanced or superior than any other species.

The video goes on to articulate implications of this ideology. The one that stood out to me was the fact that if we legally equivocate animals to humans, then all of us would have to become vegetarians. Secondly, animals would be able to bring up lawsuits against humans for issues such as maltreatment (the animal of course would be unable to do this but one of these extremists would do so for them). The most extreme of the extremists would even argue that plants have rights, so we would have to stop consuming plants as well.

In my opinion, these extremist ideas are nothing short of insane. But I cannot deny that the concept these ideas are based on is actually 100% correct and is fundamental to understanding evolutionary medicine.

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWcEYYj_-rg&feature=youtu.be