Human thought: Divine gift or terrible mutation?

As humans we have thought. Some say it is our soul, some say a fluke in the evolution of the human brain. But what is it really? One thing we know, we are extremely different from every known life form. This simple distinction in one life form has brought an entire lush planet to the brink of total destruction.

Is this a gift from a divine source, or a dangerous mutation run a muck? One thing is certain, humans are the only creatures that have stopped living in harmony with the natural universe.

With our great “gift” of thought and intelligence, we have managed to enslave and kill our own kind, destroy our own lush habitat and replace it with concrete, fill our waters with sewage, divide up the planet into sections while arming ourselves to keep other humans out. We spend trillions of dollars on weaponry for one purpose, to kill our own kind, while we watch millions of other humans starve to death.

This is not the sign of a higher life form.

Animals live in complete harmony with their surroundings. They need no help from doctors, HMO’s, or insurance companies to survive. They require no gas, no oil, no streets or unnatural structures. They do not kill out of hatred, only out of necessity. They need no electricity or stores, not even clothing. When they pass on, they leave no trace behind. They have respect for nature and have no concept of evil, or good, only the will to survive. Humans have gone so far off track that a human baby cannot survive on its own without constant help for years. The rest of life on earth is not this way.

To the animal kingdom, we must seem like a terrible cancer that has spread over the earth. If animals were given the “gift” of thought and intelligence, would there be any doubt that they would collectively pray for the destruction of the human race?

Please state your response, do you believe humans are a higher or lower life form?

Neither.

We're just evolving faster.

I'd only really call us 'higher' once we learned to move at speeds of which exceed that of our own physical capability.

Oh wait, we call those vehicles...

Actually, animals behave much in the say way we do, it's just their limited intellect that stops them from doing more destruction (like us).

Animals also divide their space up into territories and will fight to the death to defend it. It's been observed several times that different tribes of chimps have been fighting against each other for food and land.

We're not behaving any different than animals.

EDIT :

Oh, and I don't think that we're higher life forms. I think we're just another invention of nature and eventually we will disappear from the face of the earth like so many animals before us.

[edit on 10-6-2008 by redshirt0202]

GREAT POINTS!

As already said, we are not a higher or lower lifeform. We are just a different life-form with a different adaptation. If we are anything in the grand scheme of evolution, we may be simply a stepping stone species which ushers in a new era of evolution. Technological evolution.

We aren't especially strong. We don't have claws or fangs. We don't have superior eyesight or smell. We don't have venom. While it's true that human evolution has sped up throughout our history, we are still pretty much the same species which descended out of Africa, and that is the environment in which we are still most adapted for. It is only our intelligence and imagination which has allowed us to flourish via technology. Technology has replaced evolution, because we no longer depend on the slow progress of mutation and selection to adapt ourselves - but can now adapt the environment to suit our needs. This applies to simple shelters, such as Igloos and basic shelters to vast endevours like the terraformation of Mars.

But if you look at the animal kingdom, you begin to understand that our intelligence is still tempered by natural systems and behaviors which are exhibited in many of our fellow species. Territorial dominance (cats), Empathy and Altruism (primates and dolphins), emotion (dogs), killing for fun (primates and dolphins), changing our environment (beavers).. etc. There's plenty of examples. In nature, there are often checks and balances from which we are partially removed. It's not that animals live in "harmony" with nature - but rather that they are forced to. An exemption to this is a phenomena called "invasive species" - where a species transfers to a new environment in which they have no natural predators or population checks. They often over-run local wildlife, pushing them out of their territory or even to extinction. For another example, look at YellowStone National Park where human hands were involved in this process.

When we thought that Elk populations were dwindling and facing extinction, park rangers began hunting and killing the Elk's natural predators such as wolves and cougars. We artificially pushed them out. Now, did the Elk live in harmony with their environment without a lack of predators? No. They overfed on the natural resources, leading to starvation or the pushing out of many other indiginous species. They stripped the bark off of the trees which beavers relied upon to make their dams, killing them and driving off the beavers. It was an utter disaster.

So I think you're simply seeing ordered patterns arising from complexity (which is a well known phenomena) and mistaking it for harmony.

As for intelligence and imagination, we do have a bit of competition. Chimanzees, Gorillas, Octopus, Dolphins (who are known to have sex for fun, interestingly enough), and surprisingly - Crows, who have been known to not only invent simple tools and processes as well as operate machinery, but they are highly communicative - and can teach other crows who can improve upon the processes and tools. So even our intelligence isn't unique, except in it's capacity. A capacity that almost lead to our extinction - since the brain is a VERY energy expensive organ to maintain and puts extreme stress on the birth process. Note that out of all of our sister hominid species, we are the only ones to have survived.

I think history will show that the most successful species to arise post-humans, are those species which either adapt their behavior to life with humans or serve a purpose in our society. There are plenty of examples of such. Cats, dogs, pigs, cows, crows, pidgeons, camels, horses, rats, raccoons, possums, etc.. etc.

If you are speaking of Aliens then we are not too far off from them, we could have been light years ahead, if man got together from thousands of years ago in terms of technology. But if its technology doing the talking and not the flesh then we could be on the same level if not more ahead for what we are as mamals.

We can disect a Grey then we can not be too far behind since they do the same to us. When a species is so far ahead we can not put a view on it then we are the lower species but I doubt that many are that ahead anyway in the Alien universe that people know about.

Once we are able to do facinating things we won't be far behind and i think we are quite special in terms of of bodies, no wonder the Aliens sexually abuse humans.

Originally posted by Anonymous ATS

We aren't especially strong. We don't have claws or fangs. We don't have superior eyesight or smell. We don't have venom. While it's true that human evolution has sped up throughout our history, we are still pretty much the same species which descended out of Africa, and that is the environment in which we are still most adapted for. It is only our intelligence and imagination which has allowed us to flourish via technology.

I've been through this argument before.

Now, it's not contested that there are animals out there which are far more deadly than humans (lions (and all felines), bears, dogs (and all canines), monkeys, apes, sharks, killer whales, alligators, snakes and squirrels) but a great many of them will more than meet their match when faced with an experienced hunter in a one on one confrontation.

Although of course, a hunter is only as good insofar as his physical body allows him to be.

You must be strong to throw a spear, you must be swift to dodge a cat's leap, you must be sturdy to withstand the claws.

Yes, it's our intelligence and imagination which enabled us to succeed, but it is our intelligence and imagination applied to our physical bodies that is the important bit.

Human beings are perhaps the most versatile creatures on this planet, a trait which seems to have developed alongside our intelligence and inventiveness.

The ability to pick up a stick and use it to fend off a dangerous predator, for example, or to pick up a rock and throw it and then brain a predator, are both signs of this lethal combination of skills.

It's true, we aren't especially strong or fast, but what we are is masters of our environment.

[edit on 10-6-2008 by Anti-Tyrant]

Some people such as Michael Tsarion may claim we are being dumbed down and held back from our true potential. It may be that our abilities are programed into our DNA and respond to our surroundings and or associations. There may be an alien species that is manipulating and restricting our evolution. Some say reptilians.

We are both high and low depending on the circumstances. Just because our lives are filled with multiple choices, doesn't mean they're the ones we actually want or need. So much for free will with limits. Besides, there's always other levels of life forms to achieve. Maybe our pets are even closer to ascension than we realize.

Originally posted by aleon1018
There may be an alien species that is manipulating and restricting our evolution. Some say reptilians.

If true, then we cannot be certain on that point - the reptilians are known to be shapeshifters, so who is to say that their reptilian form is their true identity?

"Humans Higher Or Lower Life Forms???"

I'd say we're the best of both worlds. We are higher because we are much more intelligent than a wild animal. Although, we are also lower because, well let me put it this way, has a wild animal ever killed just to see it's victim suffer??? Or when a wild animal kills, is it in order to survive???

Is this a gift from a divine source, or a dangerous mutation run a muck? One thing is certain, humans are the only creatures that have stopped living in harmony with the natural universe.

Humans are the only creatures that have stopped living in harmony with the natural universe, that are known to us.

Animals also divide their space up into territories and will fight to the death to defend it. It's been observed several times that different tribes of chimps have been fighting against each other for food and land.

and many theists wanna claim that we have no relation to monkeys, LOL