Are humans capable of kindness?

In early civilisation, we were nomads, and roamed the earth in search of food and shelter. We ate plants and trees or killed small animals.

Then we invented agriculture on river banks and settled till stronger species pushed the weaker ones away, and so the journey and settlements continued across the world, starting from Africa, according to William Durant. When there was enough food available from agriculture, the need to kill to eat diminished.

Besides, the sight of the suffering endured by the killed animals was a mental discomfort and was best avoided if better options were available. Because of our mental evolution and consciousness, we have strong vetoes against harming other species.

Then we found plants have life, and we were in a quandary, but we consoled ourselves that their suffering was not obvious to our senses, and often we pluck only fruits and vegetables and do not kill the plant per se, other than for grains and greens, where we kill the entire plant.

Our education and upbringing did not teach us that we should not kill plants for any reason other than environmental reasons, which is selfish to our species because destroying greens and fauna will upset the global balance so much that it may harm us. Even here, such a disaster affects all other species and, in turn, affects humans, which seems to be the main concern.

The invention of the microscope brought a new dimension to the whole business. We saw bacteria and a whole lot of organisms that killed us. We went on boldly announcing “Mankind against killers,” like the all-time great work by James Hemming. Our concern for other life forms like bacteria took a backseat. What’s more, thanks to the genius of Alexander Fleming, who developed penicilin, we developed a slew of antibiotics to kill bacteria, only so we can live longer. The average human life expectancy increased, which is good news. again may be only for humans.

Let us look at the flipside. No other species kills for reasons other than food or shelter. Even then, they do not work on a strategy to kill other organisms en masse for the safety of their own species. Then why do we sit on a high pedestal and proclaim we are kind to all creations in nature?