First off, flies have brains. And they eat feces because there is a ton of bacteria that is beneficial to them as food. If anything we are inferior (in a way) because we cannot eat such things safely. Alot of organisms have complex emotions just like we do, such as fear when danger is near (ie avoiding being swatted at) and happiness to promote good behavior. And it depends on what you mean on "important" since the entire span of human history will most likely matter very very little to the rest of the universe. However, doing things that may be of importance to your species or yourself is a different matter. What a single fly does may not mean anything to you, but it matters to the fly, and possibly vice versa (what you do will not matter to the fly). Nobody will miss that fly? Apparently I miss it in a way, it lingers in my mind as a reminder that all organisms should be treated with respect and only used/killed when needed. But it doesn't even matter if someone misses it, what matters is that it lived.
Is it normal to feel guilty/sad I killed a fly?
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First off, flies have brains. And they eat feces because there is a ton of bacteria that is beneficial to them as food. If anything we are inferior (in a way) because we cannot eat such things safely. Alot of organisms have complex emotions just like we do, such as fear when danger is near (ie avoiding being swatted at) and happiness to promote good behavior. And it depends on what you mean on "important" since the entire span of human history will most likely matter very very little to the rest of the universe. However, doing things that may be of importance to your species or yourself is a different matter. What a single fly does may not mean anything to you, but it matters to the fly, and possibly vice versa (what you do will not matter to the fly). Nobody will miss that fly? Apparently I miss it in a way, it lingers in my mind as a reminder that all organisms should be treated with respect and only used/killed when needed. But it doesn't even matter if someone misses it, what matters is that it lived.