455
suffering,” there was the philosopher, sociologist, and psychologist Herbert Spencer
(1820–1903) arguing that “biological and social progress formed one broad evolutionary continuum – that they were governed by the same immutable laws and controlled by the same forces of nature”.
57
In considering the vast number of chickens—the most numerous single vertebrate species on the terrestrial planet (in marine depths, the most multitudinous fish
vertebrate is the tan bristlemouth Cyclothone) —issues of cruelty, of individualversus- population-level ecodynamics, of the nature of success in biological terms,
of the relevancy of mind, and the dictates of conscience, all converge in a dizzying
challenge. That our being is witness to these endless atrocities of course afflicts the
human heart, which remains inert and largely conspiratorial in the destruction of
chickens, on into a dark, annihilatory unknown that is akin to a nuclear war. But our
hearts are bleeding, in the worst, sentimental version of the cliché, while we do
nothing as a species, or as individuals (in most cases). For each individual chicken,
however, it is a very different story, the biology of earth having let her/him down
entirely.
Population dynamics have not added up correctly, as they once did, until 10,000
years ago, or so, when domestication and slaughter of these birds began. That was
the real birth of tragedy which, by its perpetuation against a single species, exploded
into heinous violence between peoples.
In studying the chicken’s brain, neurophysicists have sought to find correlations
between behavior and the mechanics of the neuron. But given the “hundreds of billions of nerve cells, with hundreds of trillions of connects” any conclusive empirical
explanation for who a chicken is, and what she/he thinks, is, in our opinion, but one
more example of the anthropic fallacy.
58
The chicken’s brain mass equals approximately 4 g, versus 1350 g on average in humans, 180 g for a pig, and 442 g for a
cow.
59
Does that equate with the presumption—by most scientists and other
humans—that we are smarter than chickens? That is the question, and one which
researchers, comparing 4 g to 1350 g, for example, are quick to seize upon.
60
57 See Darwin’s Origin of Species – A Biography, by Janet Brown, Douglas & McIntyre, Vancouver,
2006, p. 64.
58 See “Inside the chicken brain,” Washington University in St. Louis, EurekAlert! AAAS,
December 6, 2007, https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-12/wuis-itc120609.php. See
also, “Model chicken-brain circuit raises understanding of neural circuitry,” Diana Lutz,
Washington University in St. Louis, December 1, 2009, https://source.wustl.edu/2009/12/modelchickenbrain-circuit-raises-questions-about-understanding-of-neural-circuitry/Accessed May 5,
2020.
59 See “How are brain mass (and neurons) distributed between humans and the major farmed land
animals?” in Reflective Disequilibrium, September 10, 2013, by “Carl,” https://www.blogger.com/
profile/16384464120149476437, http://reflectivedisequilibrium.blogspot.com/2013/09/how-isbrain-mass-distributed-among.html?m=1, Accessed May 5, 2020.
60 See “Why we’re smarter than chickens,” University of Toronto, August 20, 2015, citing the
PTBP1 protein that allegedly fuels “evolution of mammalian brains to become the largest and most
complex
vertebrates.”
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/08/150820144840.htm,
Accessed May 5, 2020.
48.5 The Strange Tragedy of a Brain
suffering,” there was the philosopher, sociologist, and psychologist Herbert Spencer
(1820–1903) arguing that “biological and social progress formed one broad evolutionary continuum – that they were governed by the same immutable laws and controlled by the same forces of nature”.
57
In considering the vast number of chickens—the most numerous single vertebrate species on the terrestrial planet (in marine depths, the most multitudinous fish
vertebrate is the tan bristlemouth Cyclothone) —issues of cruelty, of individualversus- population-level ecodynamics, of the nature of success in biological terms,
of the relevancy of mind, and the dictates of conscience, all converge in a dizzying
challenge. That our being is witness to these endless atrocities of course afflicts the
human heart, which remains inert and largely conspiratorial in the destruction of
chickens, on into a dark, annihilatory unknown that is akin to a nuclear war. But our
hearts are bleeding, in the worst, sentimental version of the cliché, while we do
nothing as a species, or as individuals (in most cases). For each individual chicken,
however, it is a very different story, the biology of earth having let her/him down
entirely.
Population dynamics have not added up correctly, as they once did, until 10,000
years ago, or so, when domestication and slaughter of these birds began. That was
the real birth of tragedy which, by its perpetuation against a single species, exploded
into heinous violence between peoples.
In studying the chicken’s brain, neurophysicists have sought to find correlations
between behavior and the mechanics of the neuron. But given the “hundreds of billions of nerve cells, with hundreds of trillions of connects” any conclusive empirical
explanation for who a chicken is, and what she/he thinks, is, in our opinion, but one
more example of the anthropic fallacy.
58
The chicken’s brain mass equals approximately 4 g, versus 1350 g on average in humans, 180 g for a pig, and 442 g for a
cow.
59
Does that equate with the presumption—by most scientists and other
humans—that we are smarter than chickens? That is the question, and one which
researchers, comparing 4 g to 1350 g, for example, are quick to seize upon.
60
57 See Darwin’s Origin of Species – A Biography, by Janet Brown, Douglas & McIntyre, Vancouver,
2006, p. 64.
58 See “Inside the chicken brain,” Washington University in St. Louis, EurekAlert! AAAS,
December 6, 2007, https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-12/wuis-itc120609.php. See
also, “Model chicken-brain circuit raises understanding of neural circuitry,” Diana Lutz,
Washington University in St. Louis, December 1, 2009, https://source.wustl.edu/2009/12/modelchickenbrain-circuit-raises-questions-about-understanding-of-neural-circuitry/Accessed May 5,
2020.
59 See “How are brain mass (and neurons) distributed between humans and the major farmed land
animals?” in Reflective Disequilibrium, September 10, 2013, by “Carl,” https://www.blogger.com/
profile/16384464120149476437, http://reflectivedisequilibrium.blogspot.com/2013/09/how-isbrain-mass-distributed-among.html?m=1, Accessed May 5, 2020.
60 See “Why we’re smarter than chickens,” University of Toronto, August 20, 2015, citing the
PTBP1 protein that allegedly fuels “evolution of mammalian brains to become the largest and most
complex
vertebrates.”
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/08/150820144840.htm,
Accessed May 5, 2020.
48.5 The Strange Tragedy of a Brain