The Horror of Human Intelligence

Before you proceed, I will disclose from the start that this isn’t going to be a tale of the paranormal or a recollection of a frightening encounter. There is no shortage of such stories on here so, if that is what you are looking for, feel free to move on. In addition, I will ask that you try to keep an open mind as you read through this. I do not claim my views to be superior to yours nor do I claim to be of higher mind. With all that out of the way, I will now try to convince you how truly horrifying the human mind is. I am sure that many of you already know that to be true, but I will try to bring it into perspective and emphasize on it further. Hopefully, you may come to a realization that is equally as disturbing as an edgy teenage murderer.
To start with, let’s look upon the natural world as reference. All organisms, besides us, mentally function on a very seemingly simple level. This is not to say that their existence itself isn’t complex, in fact even the smallest of cells are part of an interconnected cycle that is designed to be self-sufficient down to the tiniest of details. In nature nothing is wasted; all things, alive or not, have their own role to play. As we move up to more complex forms of life, their integration into said cycle also becomes more intricate. Yet, in every instance, intellect and individuality always take second place to instinct; a primal urge encoded into every single being that compels them to do what is required in order to maintain the fragile balance of this cycle. A simple example to grasp is procreation; mating isn’t essential to the survival of an individual creature and yet instinct dictates that they reproduce, even at the cost of their own well-being. Common knowledge, yes, but having it into respective is essential to the point I am trying to make.
Moving on, let us proceed to humans. For whatever reason, we have developed our intellect at the expense of other physical traits. Whether this was due to a flaw in evolution or an artificial alteration I am not here to debate, but we can safely say that we have moved past being forced to rely on our animalistic urges and can outright make the decision to ignore the ones unbeneficial to us. Not only that, but we display metacognition – we can ‘’think about thinking’’. And yet, is this cognition not just a product of a more convoluted neurological network we have seemingly been gifted with? In other words, our consciousness isn’t some abstract trait but a biological one, even if we yet don’t have the means of fully researching it. Each feeling and emotion we experience can be explained as a result of some sort reaction that is occurring within our bodies, whether it be positive or negative. It would be egotistical for us to claim that we possess some sort of ‘’spiritual’’ value that sets us apart from the rest of the living organisms. What I am trying to say is that concepts like ‘’love’’ are merely a result of a cocktail of chemicals our brain produces in order to entice us into forming bonds with one another (the end goal again being procreation) even if it is largely perceived as this metaphysical bound only our species can form. Again, something that, provided that you have a realistic point of view, already know but might be difficult to comprehend by the more superstitious readers.
Humans are not selfless. A bold claim to make, but every single action you consciously perform cannot be completely selfless. Here you would likely point out that there have been countless accounts of people sacrificing themselves for the sake of another. A valid point to make, yes, but let us dwell into why that is. Lacking the previously mentioned instincts the rest of the animals have that keep them relatively in line, humans have applied their own restrains in the form of morals. These mental barriers are the only thing truly preventing us from acting on our most ruthless cravings. Example: disposing of someone that is a nuisance to you on some level would benefit you in the long run, and yet your morals are what prevents you from acting on said urges.  These morals define the concepts we describe as ‘’good’’ or ‘’bad’’. Having understood that, staying true to said principles provides us with some sort of gratification. No matter how seemingly generous our actions are, in the end the sense that we have done the ‘’right’’ thing is what we all strive for. We aim to be perceived as noble in our own eyes and those of others, which results is us feeling accomplished regardless of the discomfort we ourselves are in. Even those willing to give up their own existence to preserve that of another, only do so because they would not be able to live with themselves afterwards. An admittedly sophisticated form of self-monitoring.
Having realized all that, tell me this;
Is there any point of restraining yourself? What is the point of not acting out on your basic longings if, at the end, you are programmed to only think about your own contempt in one way or another? Have you ever felt the sudden need to just grab a knife from your counter, run outside and start massacring everything in the vicinity? If so, why not do it? They are all as selfish as you, anyway, even if they don’t realize it. Order is just a concept we devised to keep ourselves from self-eradication, after all. Every hesitation that you cling onto, every boundary that you are frightened to overcome is insubstantial. You are physically unrestrained to act upon your most sacred of urges, no matter how warped or twisted.
Now, imagine if every person currently alive came to the same realization. Imagine the wonderfully bloody chaos that would ensue. Imagine society as you know it in shambles; a beautifully hellish landscape where none are safe and yet almost all are… happy.
That is a human in its purest form.
Quite unnerving, I’d say.
Category:Mental Illness
Category:Reality
Category:Theory