Human Vs. Animal...Who is Superior?

[Widgetdex]

okay...i wasn't sure if this belonged in this forum or Society, so i stuck it here just for safe measure...

but to my possed question...we, as humans have, self-proclaimed ourselves as the superior species on this planet...but is that actually true? i personally don't think that we are...sure we have our technology which proves that we are smarter than the other inhabitants of the Earth...but is that all we have on them? i think that it is...and i don't consider that one thing to place us above the rest...but, i may be wrong...

so i'm just curious as to what the rest of you think about this subject...debate away...

[Pooeypants]

We are animals.

Debate ends.

[sdcinder]

If we are animals then we would NOT have any qualms about having sex with children, other animals, or even being clothed yet we do have issues with all those things. Our reasoning skills are obviously not the same. What other species on this planet that you know of comes out of the mother's womb so underdeveloped? What other species on this planet feels the tug of a some higher, something greater than itself? None. A bird will die singing, a dog does not feel shame for mating with 20 others in the same day, a horse feels no guilt as to if the father of the foal is around. We do. Is it a curse or is it the definitive seperation that we have from our animal counterparts? Are animals spiritual at all? Um... last I checked, no. To say that we are animals is not correct. Any almost any given religion, since this is in the religion section of the debates, the spirit of a person goes somewhere else when they die. An animal's does not. The difference there that we have eternal souls and animals don't. Why? Who knows? Maybe they get recycled. But the issue is that there are too many children coming out of "public" schools that believe there is NOTHING greater than them out there and if they are just descendents of monkeys anyway, why should they act any different? Monkey see, monkey do.

[Widgetdex]

pooeypants. that is another debate all together...there are many that don't agree that we [humans] are animals...i tried that angle too and found that it sparked more contraversy.

i brought this topic up because i debated it on another site and it was a challenging debate...mind you it was amongst and bunch of younger people ( aged 15-25) and all from the same general area...i was hoping that it would spark a little more interested than that since this is a much broader forum...i guess not though :rolleyes: .

[Paavo]

meh... We might be animals, but that kindof takes the meaning of any words away. If we change the title to "Is human the superior animal?", then it'd be easier?

Anyway, I'd say it's pretty clear we are. We are more intelligent. Period. The only one that comes close is some sort of ape that can use tools! *gasp*

Of course one can get all philosophical and annoying and go "mmm....but what IS superiority? *shakes glass of red wine*" :rolleyes: What else is there than intelligence?
No other animal can communicate in a manner as humans can etc etc... I can't see how any other animal would be superior to the "human animal".

[Widgetdex]

sure we are intelligent...i can't deny that...however, we are not the strongest, fastest, biggest, etc...we may be the most intelligent, but even that isn't enough to allow us to be superior...

even a star fish has superiority on us...we cannot live underwater...under the emmense pressure they do...and we certainly cannot regenerate our limbs...we have transplants sure...but if you got your arm loped off you'd bleed to death and even if you did live you'd be left with a stump and major disadvantage...

match anyone of us up with a bear...and ha ha, you're dead...a grizzly is the storngest thing pound for pound...not even the fastest human could out run a cheetah...they can both kill us...so wouldn't that make them superior in that aspect...we are nothing more than food in the african outback...

we were superior at on time but i think that we are too dependent on technology now...sure you could shoot the grizzy or the cheetah...or get in your truck and get away from them...but you couldn't do it on your own...we are on the bottom of the food chain without our high tech gizmos...like i said...our intelligence is all we have...

[Red_Emma]

guilt isnt necessary to show superiority ..just because we consider something primitve doesnt mean it actually is even though we have a higher intelligence than it. For instance in a extremely basic example (even thought it is human and human not human and animal) The pilgrims in the early days of American settlement considered indians as primitive..When the winter came though these "primitives" were the ones with corns while the "superior" race of people were digging up graves from the ground of alread dead rotting flesh to eat...corn never seemed so tasteful before did it?...lol i might not be right but its something to consider that there might one day be a day where we have to depend on help from the same animals that are getting burned alive right now to de-rid them of hair or the same animals who are so beefed up on anti-biotic's that their legs dont touch the ground so therefore they cant move and are starving to death ...

[Paavo]

Widge:

We have submarines to get under water, cars to outrun cheetas, artificial limbs, guns to win the bears in a fight and so on, as you said. If that isn't superiority, what is? I mean, if one's to ask this question, one has to give "superiority" a defined meaning. Otherwise, this'll just become people talking beside each other with their own vague definitions of that word.

[sdcinder]

So far as evolution goes from one species to another... ever heard of a Tat? Or seen a dorse? I think not. A Tat would be a cross between a tadpole and a cat, a dorse between a dog and a horse. Nope, isn't going to happen. That's not to say that a species can't evolve within itself. Otherwise, humans wouldn't be getting taller on the average.

I do believe that each creature has its own version of superiority or is it even really that? Is it superiority or is it just difference? Does the lion consider the moral/ethical grounds of killing the gazelle and the humaneness of it? Nope, it's just hungry. Do other creatures decide that they are on the same level as the creatures they as a whole are killing or causing the end of? No. Elevated reasoning skills AND an eternal soul are what sets us apart from every other creature on this planet.

[GeorgePotter]

</span><blockquote><span class="smallfont">Quote:</span><hr size="1" />Originally Posted by (Paavo,)
Widge:

We have submarines to get under water, cars to outrun cheetas, artificial limbs, guns to win the bears in a fight and so on, as you said. If that isn't superiority, what is? I mean, if one's to ask this question, one has to give "superiority" a defined meaning. Otherwise, this'll just become people talking beside each other with their own vague definitions of that word.<hr size="1" /></blockquote><span class='postcolor'>

Excellent point. The human ability to create and use tools is nothing to be sneered at. It's the defining point of humanity. I do not mean simple physical tools either, but tools as a meta-concept. Logic and reason are tools. Music and art are tools for emotional expression. Language itself, both written and spoken, is one of the most basic and powerful of human tools. The real superiority of humanity lies in the ability to not only create and use tools but to integrate them into larger systems and improve upon them.

[GeorgePotter]

</span><blockquote><span class="smallfont">Quote:</span><hr size="1" />Originally Posted by (Widgetdex,)
sure we are intelligent...i can't deny that...however, we are not the strongest, fastest, biggest, etc...we may be the most intelligent, but even that isn't enough to allow us to be superior...

even a star fish has superiority on us...we cannot live underwater...under the emmense pressure they do...and we certainly cannot regenerate our limbs...we have transplants sure...but if you got your arm loped off you'd bleed to death and even if you did live you'd be left with a stump and major disadvantage...

match anyone of us up with a bear...and ha ha, you're dead...a grizzly is the storngest thing pound for pound...not even the fastest human could out run a cheetah...they can both kill us...so wouldn't that make them superior in that aspect...we are nothing more than food in the african outback...

we were superior at on time but i think that we are too dependent on technology now...sure you could shoot the grizzy or the cheetah...or get in your truck and get away from them...but you couldn't do it on your own...we are on the bottom of the food chain without our high tech gizmos...like i said...our intelligence is all we have...<hr size="1" /></blockquote><span class='postcolor'>

You are thinking too simply. Man dominated the animals in the African outback with the simplest of tools. Basic logic, reason, the use of fire, built shelter, spears, traps, etc. None of this is 'high tech' though i suppose it once was.

[damnrad]

</span><blockquote><span class="smallfont">Quote:</span><hr size="1" />Originally Posted by (Widgetdex,)
okay...i wasn't sure if this belonged in this forum or Society, so i stuck it here just for safe measure...

but to my possed question...we, as humans have, self-proclaimed ourselves as the superior species on this planet...but is that actually true? i personally don't think that we are...sure we have our technology which proves that we are smarter than the other inhabitants of the Earth...but is that all we have on them? i think that it is...and i don't consider that one thing to place us above the rest...but, i may be wrong...

so i'm just curious as to what the rest of you think about this subject...debate away... <hr size="1" /></blockquote><span class='postcolor'>

Well, we are animals -- but are we superior to other animals? I find the question irrelevant. We are humans and sentient. We suspect that a few other species of animals may be sentient (whales, dolphins, chimps, gorillas, and so on). We don't know, but we could give them the benefit of the doubt. Does sentience make an animal superior to a nonsentient animal? Again, not the right question? To me, the question is what gives an organism rights. As humans have defined rights, I see those as belonging to sentient beings. And I am strongly opposed to any 'animal rights' ideology. Sentient rights, sure -- give the benefit of the doubt to a few species. Humane treatment of other animals, yes; but not 'rights.'

[Stigmata66]

I think the simple question of " Can animals produce goods?" is all that needs be asked. No. We are superior.

[Pooeypants]

</span><blockquote><span class="smallfont">Quote:</span><hr size="1" />Originally Posted by (sdcinder,)
So far as evolution goes from one species to another... ever heard of a Tat? Or seen a dorse? I think not. A Tat would be a cross between a tadpole and a cat, a dorse between a dog and a horse. Nope, isn't going to happen. That's not to say that a species can't evolve within itself. Otherwise, humans wouldn't be getting taller on the average.
<hr size="1" /></blockquote><span class='postcolor'>
An amphibian crossbreding with a mammal...hmm never seen anyone claim that before...

</span><blockquote><span class="smallfont">Quote:</span><hr size="1" />Originally Posted by

I do believe that each creature has its own version of superiority or is it even really that? Is it superiority or is it just difference? Does the lion consider the moral/ethical grounds of killing the gazelle and the humaneness of it? Nope, it's just hungry. Do other creatures decide that they are on the same level as the creatures they as a whole are killing or causing the end of? No. Elevated reasoning skills AND an eternal soul are what sets us apart from every other creature on this planet.<hr size="1" /></blockquote><span class='postcolor'>
We're just part of nature, if you look at the grand scheme of things, relative to this whole universe we insignificant. Plus not everyone believes in souls, I know I don't.

[sdcinder]

Having met a few "old" souls in my life, I would have to disagree with you on the soul issue. If this is it and this is all there really is, then why does "doing whatever you want" destroy so many families, lives, and the well-being of the individual? Thinking that we are nothing more than just another animal on this planet gets us to the point of no one striving to acheive more in their daily, weekly, monthly lifetime. No one striving to be better than they were because "we are just hairy, horny animals" anyway, right? Why try to be anything else? I do believe that religion, in general, gives a person something to strive to attain. A direction in life. Last I checked, animals really couldn't grasp that concept.

[Widgetdex]

GeorgePotter...my point in saying those things was to prove that without the technology you mentioned...we can't do it...we are nowhere near superior.

and even those people out in africa are taken down by lions and the various other native life...regardless of our intelligence, animals such as cockroaches out smart us and get into our homes...i dunno...i just think that so long as other animals can out do us natually we as humans cannot call ourselves superior.

[antayla]

We are animals, abeit advanced ones. Someday the other animals will be as advanced as us, and we will probably be like... the Borg combined with the Matrix, er sumpin. Like, the next step of complexity up (we went from cellular to multi cellular... to... network multi-cellular?)

[Impenitent]

the killer celery is superior... kill all vegetables now in self defense...

[Pooeypants]

</span><blockquote><span class="smallfont">Quote:</span><hr size="1" />Originally Posted by (sdcinder,)
Having met a few "old" souls in my life, I would have to disagree with you on the soul issue. If this is it and this is all there really is, then why does "doing whatever you want" destroy so many families, lives, and the well-being of the individual? Thinking that we are nothing more than just another animal on this planet gets us to the point of no one striving to acheive more in their daily, weekly, monthly lifetime. No one striving to be better than they were because "we are just hairy, horny animals" anyway, right? Why try to be anything else? I do believe that religion, in general, gives a person something to strive to attain. A direction in life. Last I checked, animals really couldn't grasp that concept.<hr size="1" /></blockquote><span class='postcolor'>
I think we've gone passed the point where religion relevant, if you want to continue to support that form of mind control, please do so by all means. I don't believe we have souls for the same reason I don't believe in flying pink elephants. I like the idea we are all a product a nature and at some point far back in our timeline we had a common ancestor. This separation we're invisaging, the elitism of it all is quite absurd imo.

[percivale]

The last time I checked, humans were not in any danger of becoming extinct due to the actions of any other animal (yes, I think humans are animals, too...just highly evolved ones).

"He who can destroy a thing can control a thing."
...Paul Muad'Dib (Frank Herbert's DUNE)

percivale