this post was submitted on 04 Jul 2025
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Showerthoughts
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A "Showerthought" is a simple term used to describe the thoughts that pop into your head while you're doing everyday things like taking a shower, driving, or just daydreaming. The most popular seem to be lighthearted clever little truths, hidden in daily life.
Here are some examples to inspire your own showerthoughts:
- Both “200” and “160” are 2 minutes in microwave math
- When you’re a kid, you don’t realize you’re also watching your mom and dad grow up.
- More dreams have been destroyed by alarm clocks than anything else
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- The entire showerthought must be in the title
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- If your topic is in a grey area, please phrase it to emphasize the fascinating aspects, not the dramatic aspects. You can do this by avoiding overly politicized terms such as "capitalism" and "communism". If you must make comparisons, you can say something is different without saying something is better/worse.
- A good place for politics is c/politicaldiscussion
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If you made it this far, showerthoughts is accepting new mods. This community is generally tame so its not a lot of work, but having a few more mods would help reports get addressed a little sooner.
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All evidence we have demonstrates morality has existed in our species as long as we have existed in groups. This leads me to believe that morality was a catalyst to a ~~unified~~ diverse spirituality ~~that took a very long time to agree on,~~ and we still don't agree on it.
See, it's the same when you swap them around. When both morality and spirituality exist throughout all of written history, how can you make any claim of causality? I think spirituality is a natural extension of morality, as people began to establish collective morals, spirituality and ritual can be used to spread and reinforce ideas.
And the idea that empathy isn't inherent is wildly ignorant. Mirror neurons are a fundamental part of our brains, suggesting empathy is taught is like claiming taste is. People are taught what to do with their empathy. Whether to embrace it or ignore it. Hell, look at any of the hundreds of examples of empathy in animals. It's not even exclusive to vertebrates, much less civilization.
Does an Elephant have morals?
I certainly wouldn't discount the possibility. They unquestionably have empathy. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if they have spirituality too.
How do you define morality?
A set of principles of behavior. A concept of actions that are acceptable within the social group, and actions that are not.
Elephants are animals with long memories, complex social structures, and even elaborate mourning rituals. It would not surprise me at all to find they have their own set of rules for being accepted into the herd.
Given they mourn their dead, I think there is evidence that they do. If they can value a life, then there must be some framework within which that value stems from.
If we're willing to agree on that, then the follow-up question would be, "do elephants have supernatural or religious beliefs?", as you claim that's required for morals.