A peacock sincerely wants to have the biggest and most colorful feathers possible. The fact that they are not useful and likely even counterproductive in its day-to-day life is irrelevant. The want is not fake at all.
It’s easy to imagine the peacock being jealous of some other, better-adapted bird that flies faster and needs to forage less. But since what the peacock WANTS is a big, lustrous, beautiful set of tailfeathers, it can feel better knowing the other bird does not have the things it wants. It can feel better mocking the other bird for its pitiful, puny tail.
A peacock sincerely wants to have the biggest and most colorful feathers possible. The fact that they are not useful and likely even counterproductive in its day-to-day life is irrelevant. The want is not fake at all.
It’s easy to imagine the peacock being jealous of some other, better-adapted bird that flies faster and needs to forage less. But since what the peacock WANTS is a big, lustrous, beautiful set of tailfeathers, it can feel better knowing the other bird does not have the things it wants. It can feel better mocking the other bird for its pitiful, puny tail.