cause and effect

"Of course it was cause and effect, but in the necessity with which one follows the other lay all the tragedy of life." --Of Human Bondage, p. 365

Philip was lamenting Cronshaw's imminent death due to his liver condition, but his rather bitter observation carries more relevance than that in the narrative.Yesterday we bought a squeaky toy for Kayla, since all her other ones were broken. It consisted of a plastic squeaker encased in a soft, plushy pillow in the shape of a bone. She was overjoyed the moment she got a hold of it, and easily found the spot she needs to bite to get it to squeak. She ran around the kitchen happily, tossing and pouncing on the furiously chirping toy. Within an hour, she had broken the squeaker, and the toy became nothing more than a sopping wet cotton ball. A little discomfited, Kayla sought still that spot--any spot--that caused the toy to make that happy sound, but to no avail.

Watching this, I quietly mused, does she not know that if she plays with it too roughly, she'll break it, and then she'll have nothing to play with any more? --Of course not: she's only a dog. But is that understanding of cause and effect what separates man from beast? How many humans don't know the consequences of dangerous behaviours like drinking and driving, or even chronic drinking that leads to liver conditions and to death?