What separates us from the animals?

"What separates us from the animals?"

An opposable thumb, our capacity for empathy and also great evil. That and our enormous superiority complex.

They are in touch with the Earth and nature and we are savage pieces of chit.

2nd

Gs

reply to post by watchitburn


@ What separates us from the animals?

1 feels there is no separation except for AWARNESS levels of a SPECIES. Humans are Aware and so then should and DO act as the overseeing hands of the Fauna/Flora Life on this sphere when not distracted. With this in mind if there ARE more AWARE Species then Humans then this logic that there is a separation would apply there as well as they would possibly look @ less AWARE species as animal like also, unless they the more AWARE see the potentials in the AWARE levels in those of humanity possessing heightened AWARNESS levels etc. Like Humans noticing the intelligence in say Dolphins and other EA*RTH based energies/species that as humanity becomes more aware recognizes the intelligence in many at times only seen as animal non aware life. Which unfortunately has caused @ times negative impacts on these intelligent creatures due their intelligence level advancing towards AWARE levels being overlooked and so HUNTED like WHALES smh Mistakes made by an aware species not reaching it higher potentials of awareness and acknowledging these CREATOR Creations and their AWARNESS levels.

Please excuse OP if 1 went OT a bit. But its AWARNESS level to 1 that distinguishes an AWARE species from an Intelligent etc.

NAMASTE*******

reply to post by watchitburn


It is not our intelligence. Dolphin and whales have just as much brain power if not more, the only reason they do not display this in making things is they are physically unable too.

It is the depth of our ability to empathize with others. The more you can empathize the more human you are, the less you can have empathy the more machine like you are.

Originally posted by LoneGunMan
reply to post by watchitburn

 

It is not our intelligence. Dolphin and whales have just as much brain power if not more, the only reason they do not display this in making things is they are physically unable too.

It is the depth of our ability to empathize with others. The more you can empathize the more human you are, the less you can have empathy the more machine like you are.

there are a hell of alot of machine humanoids out there then .. i agree with you BTW,

Originally posted by watchitburn
The ability to use reason and logic or the capacity for emotion and empathy?

Thoughts?

edit on 9-3-2013 by watchitburn because: (no reason given)

I think you are incorrect. Animals tend to have more empathy and reason and logic than humans. There was another thread on bumblebees having access to quantum information, and I got to thinking, what makes humans special?

The answer is, our ability to create. We are able to imagine something like a skyscraper and then build it. This also has the side-effect of making us somewhat insane - thus why we are, in actuality, LESS empathetic, LESS logical, and LESS reasonable than animals.

This insanity also explains why we are not able to empathize with animals as easily, because we can be too arrogant to notice that they know exactly what they are doing.

While animals might not be in tune with our delusional belief systems, a human might *perceive* (incorrectly) that the animal is "stupid." For example, Mike believes in Santa but he sees no evidence that his cat does. Therefore, he thinks his cat is "stupid" because his cat doesn't "get it" when in fact, Mike is an insane human.

Mike might also think that drinking soda is "bad" (when in fact, it would be more prudent to research the effects of soda and decide whether or not you wish to drink it based on what outcome you desire) and notices that his cat drinks soda, and thus thinks his cat is, once again, "stupid."

But Mike is an arrogant human. For one, his cat has no method of researching the soda besides trying it, and for another, the cat is smart enough to stop drinking the soda if it has un-desirable side-effects, while...

Mike might actually CONTINUE to drink soda even though it is OBVIOUS that it is hurting him because he BELIEVES that it is good for him. He might lose his teeth, get high blood sugar, become diabetic and overweight but his BELIEF in soda drinking actually FORCES him to act in his worst interest.

What separates us from the animals?

Arrogance.

Otherwise, we are the same.

Thank you.

Originally posted by facelift
reply to post by watchitburn

 

reply to post by facelift

I've seen a man raped by a dolphin, and I remember hearing in the news a baby raped by a dog.


WTF are you talking about..? Are you being metaphorical..?


You 'witnessed' this..? Where..? Some Bullsh!t CGI Bestiality website..?


And since 2010..?


Cancel your ATS account now...

Actually, Facelift, I hate to break it to you, but as a psychology major we learned that certain species like Dolphins do, in fact, rape.

OK, I'll mention the rape first since I promised I'd return to the dolphins' sadistic sexual exploits. They rape each other. Male or female, old or young, it doesn't matter. Dolphins love rape. In fact I'm pretty sure the only thing dolphins love more than forcing themselves on one another (and sometimes humans) is killing baby porpoises and tossing around their brutalized corpses.

Read more at www.environmentalgraffiti.com...


There is more information to read on this site, as well.

reply to post by watchitburn


Understanding the reciprocal relationship between all things, animals and humans alike, is essential to understanding Being and becoming a Dasein.

You are thinking subject-object, which is a scientific and Kantian way of thinking, when you should be thinking object-object (see object oriented ontology). Subject-object oriented ontology is the path of domination in which man makes himself superior to all things.

Read Martin Heidegger's Being and Time, and then read Heidegger's Parmenides.

To save your sanity if you do read Heidegger, seeing or coming into Being has no practical value.

I have read this entire thread.

And, the one thing that is missing, that may pull all of your great responses to the OP, together...is.

WE are the only entity on this planet that ....wears clothes.

Even most depictions of the "aliens"...they are not wearing clothes.

You, don't see the description of a "Grey" in a snappy blue jumpsuit.

The answer to why we do, is the subject of many a debate, but ultimately may just answer the question.

What does, separate us from the other animals?

Originally posted by watchitburn

What makes us any better than the shark that is essentially a very efficient eating machine, or the cat that will stalk and kill smaller creatures for sport? Or perhaps the virus that invades and destroys blindly for no other purpose than to replicate itself?

It would appear to come down to the traits that I have listed. Reason and logic, and emotion and empathy. 
Now there are animals that demonstrate these to one degree or another. The Octopus has certainly demonstrated it's ability to plan out a course of action and utilize tools to make it so. I think dogs do a pretty good job of becoming emotionally attached to their owners. Of course the Chimps and Apes put on a good show of both categories, but they don't have anything on humans when it comes to going to the extremes that we do.

Thoughts?

edit on 9-3-2013 by watchitburn because: (no reason given)

Like incomplete matryoshka dolls, (the 'built-upon' evolutionary models), operating only some of the available 'machinery'...(dogs driving cars?...let alone conceptualising them and building them)...parts are missing, only enough to navigate the savannah, build a nest out of twigs...i.e. only 3 nested dolls...

A99

Originally posted by andy06shake
"What separates us from the animals?"
An opposable thumb, our capacity for empathy and also great evil. That and our enormous superiority complex

That and the ability to invent anything we put our minds to, whether creative, mindfully destructive or outsmarting ourselves of/from the goal intent without knowing any difference (ankst).

Freewill.

Originally posted by Signals

Freewill.

Shakespeare.

Originally posted by ConspiracyNutjob
There are a number of things that seperate humans from animals.

By no means an exhaustive list but the major differences are:

Our intellect
We have a soul
We have the capacity to worship God

Animals have souls otherwise they would not be alive

The only thing that seperates us from animals is intellect and will. Thus being spirit. Animals have no spirit. Note; spirit and soul are two different things. A soul animates a life. All living things have a soul.

I recently found my philosophy notes on the short film "The Fifth Ape" narrated by Richard Dawkins, and it sort of pertains to what you're getting at. If you're not a fan of evolution, then don't bother reading this (:

Essentially, human beings are the fifth apes - apes are our closest evolutionary cousins.

Many people think that we are separated from animals because we are top of the food chain and own domestic animals, they listen to us and we exercise control over them etc etc. - this is, in fact, not the case - humans do not have domination over animals like they think they do, because we are animals ourselves. It's a dog eat dog world.

The struggle for survival in the animal world is the dynamic force that drives evolution. There is no goal for evolution, it just changes. Humans are just one of it's products.

Altruism is possible for humans. It is also possible for animals. Humans have evolved morality (although it is a thin layer on top of human nature). So do animals. Chimps exhibit empathy, and moral concern.

There is also a political ideology within this whole idea - animals aren't nice, so humans shouldn't be nice either. Right? Yet humans have a lust to be nice. Niceness has been hardwired into our brains. Natural selection gave us big brains to design a comfortable society. So shouldn't animals hold these qualities as well?

The only thing that separates us from other animals is the fact that we are the only species to escape natural selection - our evolution does not continue (or does it?). I feel like a lot of people overthink what makes us different from animals. Have you ever talked to your pets? I often find they exhibit humanistic features, or even acquire them from watching us. Our evolutionary trees just split off in different directions, and that's what seperates us.

Sorry for the confusing rant, it probably made me sound crazy, but those are my thoughts on this whole shabang.

The better question would be, "what makes us like animals".

The separation is obvious but, if ignored and the connection is seen instead, a greater appreciation of them is had.

Isn't it boring and odd that in this vast universe of life forms, the only ones we really understand are humans? Although we live side by side with them and always will, we have failed to develop social relationships. I know that, if given more respect and reverence, the animals could teach us more about ourselves. It is us who are incapable of learning from them. And they do have things to teach us. So if animals have information to give you that you don't have and couldn't have without them, are they really an inferior intelligence? Or is it us who is unintelligent for being incapable of "listening" due to our egos and pride?