The Antidote

Is intelligence (or sentiency) a birthright? In terms of intelligence, the answer is a resounding no. In the absence of nurture, there is no meaningful intelligence. Our big brains are useless if we don’t have the culture in which we learn and develop.

From the scientific standpoint, the lack of intelligence would make achieving sentiency a near impossibility. However, as I said, the science of sentiency is in its infancy and fails to take into account spiritual and metaphysical aspects, as well as the scientific discoveries that await us. So perhaps just as it is possible to be intelligent and lack sentiency, it is also possible to lack intelligence and be sentient.

In asking the question ‘Is the human species intelligent’, the limitation seems to be empathy.