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dodslaser | 10 months ago

While this is technically correct, there is an important distinction to be made that we are the only species capable of even understanding the ramifications of our actions on an ecosystem, and choosing to change our behavior to have less (or more) of an impact on the environment we are in.

Any species could drive another species to extinction, or carry them from one location to another, but no other species are actively choosing to do so.

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Ygg2|10 months ago

What does "actively choosing" mean? An ant might choose to move the bugs they milk. Do they count?

haswell|10 months ago

I’d define this as: we consciously understand the potential and real consequences of our actions.

Ants operate on instinct and are not capable of extrapolating higher order consequences like we are.

Biologist123|10 months ago

Thanks, “actively choosing” assumes we have conscious will. Whilst widespread, this belief is alas just an assumption.