Interesting stuff, although I think your original question suffers from a concise definition of what you mean by 'better'. Morally better? Athletically? Socially?
Let's suppose you mean better in the sense of being 'morally upright'. Your conclusion that 'no one is better than anyone else' is highly debatable. I consider myself better than many people and not out of conceit. I see you for example, as being better than Hitler or a paedophile. In a sense, while human exceptionalism may be fuelled by ego, there is a sense of peace that comes with doing the right thing. And if that means me considering myself morally better than other people, I'll take that in stride. I also think as an upside that when we look at certain people as being exceptional or of higher moral standards than others, there's a natural tendency to aspire to those standards. MLK, Mandela, Florence Nightingale, Helen Keller—and a host of other exceptional people who inspired many are testament to the merits of human exceptionalism.
Interesting stuff, although I think your original question suffers from a concise definition of what you mean by 'better'. Morally better? Athletically? Socially?
Let's suppose you mean better in the sense of being 'morally upright'. Your conclusion that 'no one is better than anyone else' is highly debatable. I consider myself better than many people and not out of conceit. I see you for example, as being better than Hitler or a paedophile. In a sense, while human exceptionalism may be fuelled by ego, there is a sense of peace that comes with doing the right thing. And if that means me considering myself morally better than other people, I'll take that in stride. I also think as an upside that when we look at certain people as being exceptional or of higher moral standards than others, there's a natural tendency to aspire to those standards. MLK, Mandela, Florence Nightingale, Helen Keller—and a host of other exceptional people who inspired many are testament to the merits of human exceptionalism.