Inner speech mis-exaptation can cause the “Hubris” that speeds up ecosystem over-exploitation

Each living organism is a component of an ecosystem, as Bateson stated, “The unit of survival is organism plus environment”. Accordingly, the main aim of the present article is to analyse the place of human beings in the ecosystem, taking into account their peculiar characteristic of contraption-makers, and hence of modifiers of the ecosystem. This characteristic has been of paramount importance to the evolutionary success of homo sapiens, but, especially in the last century, it has been potentially dangerous for the entire ecosystem, and hence for human survival. The term “Hubris” refers to the mis-exaptation of these creative human capabilities, which can result in “mental illness” and prompt homo sapiens to believe in his godlike power over the ecosystem. Some neurobiological aspects related to Hubris are briefly discussed in relation to the pathogenetic changes caused by human overexploitation of the ecosystem. In conclusion, there is an urgent need for humans to take long-term responsibility for their dealings with the ecosystem, not only because severe physical and mental illnesses are caused by dangerous man-made alterations of the ecosystem, but also because these psychic disorders are part of a positive feedback that is able to shatter crucial components of the entire “survival unit”. A brief illustration of this point from the standpoint of available mathematical models of human-environment interactions can be found in the 'Appendix A'.