Lots of good points here and well articulated. I agree that the critical difference between homo-sapiens and ancient forms of speciocide lies in our understanding of the consequences of our actions, and therefore (at least theoretically) having cognitive some control over our actions. I also agree that in most cases megafauna extinctions weren’t driven by a monotheistic philosophy, however, I would argue that in those cases we were likely ignorant to the full consequences of our actions thereby mitigating culpability to some extent. Either way, I wanted to push back on the notion of preindustrial humans being in harmony with nature (and perhaps the idea of harmonious nature more broadly) as I don’t think there is a lot of evidence for that beyond a few isolated examples.

I completely agree that we should be aspiring to the role of caretakers of this planet we’ve all found ourselves on, and to me the greatest tragedy of the human condition is the recognition of how much we’ve perverted that role. I find it hard to look forward to any kind of future for humanity when we are currently so at odds with that goal, and with seemingly no desire to alter course as a collective.