Are Humans A Species of Animal?

The roots of the word "domesticated" literally translate to "one who has become acostomed to living in a home."
Here are a few examples of domesticated species:
Dogs are a species of canine. They come from wolves who were selectively breed for specific traits that were beneficial to humans. Eventually it created a divergent species that we call dog. There are various breeds of dog, but all belong to the species Canis Domesticus and can technically reproduce.

My understanding of humans is that we are a species of animal. We officially belong to the family of Great Apes, along with our closest relatives (other animals who we share the most recent common ancestor with) the Gorillas, Orangutans, Bonobos and Chimpanzees. The thing is, we have become a domesticated species, along the lines of the dog, pig and cow. Humans are actually the most useful animal to domesticate because we are such good tool makers/users and we have really well developed communication skills. A lot of the wild-ness has been bred out of us. How many of you reading this were raised with the most basic survival skills necessary to live in the wild? My parents never taught me how to build a shelter or how to hunt food in the wilderness. Sure, I was taught to fish and was taught domestic duties. With this type of upbringing it is expected that a person will sell their labour to someone who will give them vouchers (fiat money) that can be used to trade for food at these big depots. Also, the vouchers are used to trade for someone else to let them live in the house that someone else built. It's expected that we will live the life of a domesticated animal.

Humans existed before agriculture and city dwelling (civilization) were around, and they were essentially the same as us in their basic mental and physical abilities. They just lived different lifestyles. Mainstream opinion is that our ancestors from about 200 thousand years ago (or before) until about only 10 thousand years ago were living in nomadic tribes of hunter-gatherers. They looked pretty much the same as we do now, but they were living lifestyles more similar to the other Great Apes.

I'm not leading up to a stance that advocates going back to that lifestyle. It would be difficult and senseless to go backwards at this point. However, I am saying that I would personally like to undo some of the domestication process. I want to be more of that wild animal that nature intended me to be. That being said, a lot of really useful things came out of this 10 thousand year experiment in Civilization and there is no reason why we shouldn't continue to use some of them. A radical shift in lifestyle wouldn't happen overnight anyways. However, as participants in the present, we can help shape the course of the future.

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From Wikipedia:

Humans, or human beings, are bipedal primates belonging to the mammalian species Homo sapiens (Latin: "wise man" or "knowing man") in the family Hominidae (the great apes). Compared to other species, humans have a highly developed brain capable of abstract reasoning, language, and introspection. This mental capability, combined with an erect body carriage that frees their upper limbs for manipulating objects, has allowed humans to make far greater use of tools than any other species. DNA evidence indicates that modern humans originated in Africa about 200,000 years ago. Humans now inhabit every continent and low Earth orbit, with a total population of over 6.7 billion as of March 2008.

In modern parlance the word "Ego" is typically used as a category for every undesirable trait we humans possess and then we refer to it as our "lower self". Originally the word was used by Sigmund Freud to refer to the familiar personality. This is the part of ourselves which we refer to when we say, "I". In fact, the word "Ego" is the Latin word for "I". Freud defined a tripartite division of the psyche into Id, Ego and Super-Ego. Id is Latin for "it", meaning a thing. In this case, "it" may refer to the body, or more specifically the inherent consciousness of the body. These are the genetically hardwired behaviours and instincts, primarily focused on experiencing pleasure and avoiding discomfort. It is within the Id function of the mind that I feel the wild animal nature resides. The Id would also contain survival instincts bred into us that favour behaviours that will allow us to survive as domesticated animals. The third member of this Trinity of the Mind is the Super-Ego. Again, this is a Latin term which means "above I". This is a collection of the attributes and attitudes that we do not have the self-confidence to allow into our sense of self. We therefore project these attributes onto external forces including abstract concepts such as "the universe" or "destiny" or individuals that we consider to be role models or authority figures, whether fictional or not including the concept of deity. It is my belief that every part of the self should be understood, accepted and integrated. The only thing that should be rejected is ignorance, especially that which leads to internal conflict. The Id, Ego and Super-Ego should each be purged of ignorance, oriented toward a common goal and harmonized. We can compare this threefold system to that of alchemy, where Salt (Id), Sulphur (Ego) and Mercury (Super-Ego) represent Body, Soul and Spirit and are all equally important in the production of the Philosopher's Stone.

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In addition, I want you to know that I do intuitive readings professionally. I learned a traditional family method of doing Tea Leaf readings from my Ojibway father when I was only 8 years old. At the age of 17, I took up the life-long study of occultism, including the art of reading the Tarot. I am currently 34 years old and continue to pursue my studies with great passion.

Kind Regards,
Jeremy Crow