Are we animals, or something else?
POSTED BY: chrisisall
UPDATED: Monday, June 3, 2024 14:47
VIEWED: 10390
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Quote:
Originally posted by chrisisall:
Like, we are to animals like God is to us.
Or some such silliness.
I think our relationship with animals is more realistically defined by the fact that for millenia we shared a rivalry and predator-prey relationship with them - just like the animals we are.
We did and what we did because we could, because we gained the upper hand through technology and what-not. We didn't suddenly start disrespecting our mutual animalhood because God told us to.
Respect for animals won't come about through emphasizing that we are only animals. It is and will be a result of our elevation among them, Because it is as artificial as our own achievements.
ETA: "Artificial" is not meant to mean bad or unnecessary. And our achievements are.. tools, highly complex social constructs, philosophy, etc.
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I agree. The concept of "human dominion" has been perverted into "humans have dominion over "lesser" species" and that the earth was created just for our use, but that's not at all what the Christian or Jewish religion are about--they actually testify in many places in the Bible and Torah that humans should show compassion toward other animals.
"I'm just right. Kinda like the sun rising in the east and the world being round...its not a need its just the way it is." The Delusional "Hero", 3/1/10
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Me too.
The laughing Chrisisall
"I only do it to to remind you that I'm right and that deep down, you know I'm right, you want me to be right, you need me to be right." - The Imperial Hero Strikes Back, 2010
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"Are you saying that groups of apes or schools of dolphins are incapable of bullsh*ting each other?"
There is some indication that chimpanzees do lie to each other by producing sounds associated with an event when that event isn't occurring.
I don't think they 'believe' it themselves, however. For that conclusion I refer to the opaque and transparent box scenario of chimps and children that SignyM posted a while ago.
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Silence is consent.
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If it can commit heresy, far as I am concerned it's human.
If it can display detectable emotion, it's people.
That said, imho - not all homo sapiens meet either or both of those criteria, and many other species do.
-F
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Quote:
Are you saying only humans can display detectable emotion? Or that "people" is how you view all animals and different from "human"? If the former, I must have gotten that wrong, from all you've said previously...?
If it can display detectable emotion, it's people
"I'm just right. Kinda like the sun rising in the east and the world being round...its not a need its just the way it is." The Delusional "Hero", 3/1/10
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My cats are people. Not all humans are.
The laughing Chrisisall
"I only do it to to remind you that I'm right and that deep down, you know I'm right, you want me to be right, you need me to be right." - The Imperial Hero Strikes Back, 2010
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That's what I hoped Frem is saying. In which case, I agree.
"I'm just right. Kinda like the sun rising in the east and the world being round...its not a need its just the way it is." The Delusional "Hero", 3/1/10
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Haven't read anything but your initial premise, Chris, but yes, we're animals and nothing more. We THINK we have a "soul", with no real definition of what the hell that is, and we THINK we communicate effectively where other species can't, and that they DON'T have "souls", but we have no actual way of knowing that. For all we know, kittens are laughing their friggin' asses off at us, all day every day, for being SO gawddammed stupid that we'll slave away all day just to buy them food and toys.
So who's the smarter animal now, exactly? When did a cat ever devise a weapon to destroy his entire species' ability to go on living? When was the last time you saw a dog so pollute its planet that the rivers and lakes would literally catch fire? And where exactly is our "soul" in all of that math?
"I supported Bush in 2000 and 2004 and intellegence [sic] had very little to do with that decision." - Hero, Real World Event Discussions
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We're no different from any other animal. If there is such a thing as a soul, all other animals have it too. Animals are plenty intelligent and clearly have emotions and the ability to communicate with each other. Does that mean we can't eat them? Not at all, we have just as much right to eat another animal as any predator does.
"Haha, mine is an evil laugh."
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