Quote:
Quote by: Gods_Mercenary  My argument was shaky, but the end of the argument is that if we are equal to animals, we should not be above eating them. Many animals eat others. |
We are equal to animals in that no animal wants to be the target of pain. We all avoid it when we can.
The part where we are not equal is that we have the ability to employ high reason, show sympathy, empathize, mercy, and then act on those. We have the ability to be masters of our passions and not be mastered by them.
To be more blunt on not needing to act like animals even though we are equal in not wanting to suffer, your statement above could be met with:
If we are equal to animals, we shouldn`t be above crapping outside in the open and having sex everytime the urge strikes us no matter where we are.
Like animals we share the ability to suffer pain and be miserable, but unlike them we have the ability to exercise self control and mastery of our urges and passions. They all need not be whitewashed to base-line zero just to not harm them or to either permit harming them. Each point can be addressed on their own.