Apology to the Animals

Disgruntled Readers

I want to formally apologize to the jungle creatures I maligned in my earlier postings in which I referred to the “law of the jungle” to convey the idea of disorder and chaos. I used the term “jungle” in the Victorian’s anthropocentric sense.

I am of course aware, that your behaviors are far from chaotic and disordered. Unlike human beings, who are infinitely creative and whose behavior—for good and evil—is only limited by their imagination, your animal behavior is governed by instincts honed over the millennia by the forces of evolution. Your behavior is patterned, bounded, and constrained by what actually worked for your genetic predecessors.

Human beings lack your genetic wisdom and have to make it up as they go along. Even their puny attempts at learning from history are compromised by their infinitely creative attempts at interpreting and explaining past events. Their rear view mirrors are pretty much useless so long as they are colored and distorted by their dogmatic beliefs.