This is a picture of the Tarsier, a primate from the islands of southeast Asia. They are a nocturnal animal with eyes the size of their entire brain. They have long hind legs, elongated fingers, and are covered in very soft, velvety fur.

They also have two noteworthy distinctions in the world of primates. 1. They are the only purely carnivorous primate on Earth. 2. If put in captivity they severely injure themselves, often to the point of their own death.

This second point is what caught my attention. I’ve long believed that humans were the only animals that while physically and sexually healthy will knowingly take their own lives. And yet, here this little primate does itself in if put in an enclosure or cage. This is such a truism for the animal that they simply cannot be kept in places like zoos.

So is it suicide? Does the tarsier understand what it’s doing when it seemingly tries to end the stress of captivity? Are they just playing out some pre-programmed behavior, set to be executed under certain conditions?

Do we really understand what we’re doing when we do the same thing?

I somehow suspect that we’re just another dumb animal, doing what evolution has told us to do, experienced subjectively as a choice made while operating under the illusion of free will.

But maybe not.