Am 18.01.2014 18:47, schrieb FractRacer:

>> Kitten do learn what is good or bad, by interacting with their siblings
>> and their mother. Good := behaviour provoking positive feedback, evil :=
>> behaviour provoking negative feedback.
>>
>> For instance, kitten learn not to play too rough because this will cause
>> the siblings to abort the game.
>>
>> This way, some kitten will learn to actually /be/ good, while others
>> will learn to not get /caught/ when being evil.
>
> But kitten can't name his act.

Well, they can't talk, but they /are/ aware of whether they're behaving 
"evil". Just watch a domestic cat that you have caught stealing food 
from the table or some such.


> If kitten is a male, when it is
> fully-grown it can kill some others kittens to have a chance to
> copulate. This behavior, based on instinct, is normal in animals world;

That's because although kittens learn that /playing/ rough is evil, 
there is a biological /necessity/ for /fighting/ rough. (In the wild, a 
male cat that doesn't will never ever reproduce, and a female cat that 
doesn't will not be able to secure a sufficient supply of food).

Note that we can only observe the /behaviour/ of the cat, not what 
/thoughts/, /emotions/ or /instincts/ are driving this behaviour. Just 
because the cat acts like it doesn't consider its acts evil doesn't 
necessarily mean it really doesn't. It may well be that a young male cat 
/will/ hesitate to seriously attack another male cat, but that in the 
end its instincts are simply stronger - because in the wild that's how 
it must be.


> for the humans it is reprehensible.

Quote you from a few posts ago:

"But human is the only species which can make a choice (ex: kill or 
not). Unfortunately, the choice made is often the wrong (kill). Humans 
can live in peace if they want, why it is not the case?"

Maybe it is testimony that our ability to make an educated choice is 
overestimated, and that we, too, just like cats, are subject to 
instincts that may overwhelm us?

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