Viewing a single comment thread. View all comments

JustAPerspective t1_ix6z3r2 wrote

The appreciation for the limitation of human perception is an important context for managing ego.

This also leads to the question - when a caterpillar discovers an empty cocoon, do they mourn a lost caterpillar, or celebrate a new butterfly?

144

hughperman t1_ix7af1q wrote

No they do not. <Wow this was a super unpopular take on caterpillar perception>

−40

Aggressive_Worker_93 t1_ix7i6bo wrote

They might in a different way we do not understand; same as the concept of mourning is exclusive to certain animal species, there may be certain behaviours that are unique to caterpillars you cannot fully understand or even be aware of.

27

latakewoz t1_ix7rzhs wrote

No, they do not.

−23

WhittlingDan t1_ix9s7jf wrote

Elephants have funerals.

1

latakewoz t1_ixabosk wrote

It was a joke on the other commentary and on the fact tthat it was downvoted so much... Of course animals are mourning...

1

GETitOFFmeNOW t1_ixjdm1e wrote

This reminds ds me of when my 2nd grade teacher told me that pers don't have emotions. She said we simply ascribe human characteristics to things we don't understand.

Just because a thing hasn't been emperically proven to exist doesn't mean we should assume that it does not exist.

Medicine makes this mistake with prevalence. Often, as with celiac disease, Graves' disease, Sjogren's and other autoimmune diseases, lack of awareness leads to a dearth of diagnoses which is too-often confused with prevalence.

It's unsettling to see that some scientists proceed as though they know everything knowable.

1

OnlyGlenUKnow t1_ix84wt8 wrote

We ain't talking about if your parents love you, were talking about caterpillars

10

leafsfan88 t1_ix88ngl wrote

The caterpillar thinks, "hmm, I can't eat this. Meh"

3

ridgecoyote t1_ix8o5ot wrote

Why don’t I like this Reddit downvote algorithm in a philosophy group? Because downvoted comes to mean “you shouldn’t have posted that” rather than “you’re technically correct but that’s not the whole point “.

3

surle t1_ixa070m wrote

I'm just imagining a whole lot of redditors who are actually caterpillars going "you bastard!"

2

JustAPerspective t1_ix97ec4 wrote

Absolutism is usually a solid indicator of unthinking habits.

People seldom reward someone for saying something contradictory without any explanation and no consideration of other possibilities... particularly in Philosophy, where the goal is to think about things in a new way.

1

hughperman t1_ix99r3d wrote

Sure, I was mostly just dicking around with your phrasing with the non-exclusive-or answer to "X or Y". Just didn't expect it to be noticed much.
I'm not much for flowery language, so question about a caterpillar mourning? Nope, caterpillars do not know about cocoons or their meaning.
As a question about perspective, sure. But I'll double down and throw it back to you - the perspective of the unknowing caterpillar is just as good a metaphor as the knowing caterpillar. The dream of the butterfly as an allegory of unknown transitions into or out of unimaginable, inaccessible states is just as easily described by the caterpillar who doesn't know what a cocoon is. We don't know what the events, objects, environmental queues are that will be transformative in our lives, or what the signs are that someone has transitioned in a similar way. It's only with hindsight that we see the key elements, such as getting in our cocoon, that lead to our butterfly transformation. At the time, we had no idea what a cocoon was, even as we were building it.

4

JustAPerspective t1_ix9nnyu wrote

Having learned nothing, the invitation was made, and also ignored.

0

hughperman t1_ix9snam wrote

I don't really know what you're saying here?

3

Diabegi t1_ixa6mdx wrote

Just say you have nothing decent to respond with and leave it at that

1

JustAPerspective t1_ixabdl5 wrote

You say what you want to say, child, we'll say what we want to.

Simply because you don't understand what's communicated?

Doesn't mean it ain't there.

0