Yaowen...........there is a lot to unpack in your post. Many good points which I agree with.
But for now I just want to comment on your last few sentences. " The goal is to teach the dog to
self punish even when nobody's around " I believe this is an excellent point. In the human sense
I believe this could be a process that directs us towards some type of morality. Humans , for the
most part tend towards avoiding punishment and conflict.
And on a personal note , your last sentence is anything but true , you are NOT often wrong about things.
And we are all still learning.