Yes.
But, even more accurately... You are related to dogs, cats, plants, etc... Their genes/DNA are in yours...
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Are Humans Animals
- Thread starter idav
- Start date
Yes.
But, even more accurately... You are related to dogs, cats, plants, etc... Their genes/DNA are in yours...
Deathbydefault
Apistevist Asexual Atheist
psychoslice
Veteran Member
I myself see that as insulting animals, its us humans that stuff up this planet, if we were not here the animals would live very happily, and the planet would prosper.
Virus, we are the most infectious and destructive organism on the planet
dianaiad
Well-Known Member
Yes, we are 'animals.'
Yes, we are primates (which is probably why that class is CALLED 'primate,' arrogant as that name actually is...)
How is this a problem for anybody?
YmirGF
Bodhisattva in Recovery
I don't understand how anyone could seriously argue against the idea that we are simply a clever primate. We are so clever that we have managed to neatly distance ourselves from our inherent connection to all other animals on this small watery world. We pretend that they are here for us -- because we are so special.
dianaiad
Well-Known Member
It would?
......and how many mass extinction events have happened over the history of this planet, that had absolutely nothing to do with humans?
I think that there have been, er....five. Some scientists think we are currently in a sixth one, but unlike all of the others, THIS one might actually be ameliorated because one of the species a: understands the idea of 'mass extinction,' b: doesn't like the idea and c: might be able to do something about it. Maybe.
What's the difference between homo sapiens and all the other animals on the planet? I can't say that it is 'we have souls and none of the other animals do," because in my belief system that's not true. We believe that all things living have spirits.
WE, however, (whether one believes that we are spiritually 'special' or not) have something none of the others do; brains enough to think about stuff other than eating, mating and protecting our young, and hands to do something about what we think of. THAT makes us pretty darned special.
I have a dog...first dog I've had in thirty years, actually. My avatar is her when she was nine weeks old at the pound. I've always been a 'cat person,' so getting this puppy was completely out of character for me. I've had her a year, and she's VERY busy, all springs and bounce. She mourns when I leave (I've never heard her howl, but Mom tells me that if I'm gone for more than a couple of hours, she'll do that). her excitement when I come home is very much over the top. Where I am, she is. Constantly. If I am ill, she's right there. If I'm tired, she's right there. "Unconditional love,' is what I'm told it is, and that might be right. She's also very smart....for a dog.
But as smart as she is, she can't talk to me--or communicate complex ideas with other dogs. She can't write. She can't cook me breakfast. She can't call 911 and describe the problem if I need that. She can't knit or crochet or sew quilts or use power saws. In fact, no other animal on the planet can do any of those things; only we can.
BECAUSE we can, we 'rule' over every other animal. Why? Because unlike any other animal, we CAN destroy the planet, force another species to extinction, and change climates. It's not a matter of 'should we...' but 'we have to."
The Bible has told us that we have been made stewards over the earth and all on it. Of course we have...whether one thinks that God appointed us to that job or not, we ARE the stewards and we are responsible....because we CAN destroy it all, we are responsible for it all.
...........................and that, theist or a-.............makes us very, very different from all the other animals on the planet, doesn't it?
Pudding
Well-Known Member
animal noun (CREATURE)
A1 something that lives and moves but is not a human, bird, fish, or insect:
wild/domestic animals
Both children are real animal lovers.
Surveys show that animal welfare has recently become a major concern for many schoolchildren.
B2 anything that lives and moves, including people, birds, etc.:
Humans, insects, reptiles, birds, and mammals are all animals.
animal
1 A living organism which feeds on organic matter, typically having specialized sense organs and nervous system and able to respond rapidly to stimuli.
1.1 Any such living organism other than a human being.
1.2 A mammal, as opposed to a bird, reptile, fish, or insect.
1.3 A person without human attributes or civilizing influences, especially someone who is very cruel, violent, or repulsive.
‘those men have to be animals—what they did to that boy was savage’
1.4 [with adjective or noun modifier] A particular type of person or thing.
‘I am a political animal’
‘property development was a different animal altogether’
A1 something that lives and moves but is not a human, bird, fish, or insect:
wild/domestic animals
Both children are real animal lovers.
Surveys show that animal welfare has recently become a major concern for many schoolchildren.
B2 anything that lives and moves, including people, birds, etc.:
Humans, insects, reptiles, birds, and mammals are all animals.
animal
1 A living organism which feeds on organic matter, typically having specialized sense organs and nervous system and able to respond rapidly to stimuli.
1.1 Any such living organism other than a human being.
1.2 A mammal, as opposed to a bird, reptile, fish, or insect.
1.3 A person without human attributes or civilizing influences, especially someone who is very cruel, violent, or repulsive.
‘those men have to be animals—what they did to that boy was savage’
1.4 [with adjective or noun modifier] A particular type of person or thing.
‘I am a political animal’
‘property development was a different animal altogether’
Jeremiahcp
Well-Known Jerk
The vast majority of species on this planet went extinct long before humans got here. Heck, if we detonated every nuclear device in every arsenal it wouldn't equal to the K-pg meteor. Nature was harsh and unforgiving before us, it probably will be after us, too.
Jeremiahcp
Well-Known Jerk
Not to mention that we are part of nature. So if we are harsh then nature is harsh, because we are really one in the same. The Earth is a lot stronger than us, but you know we have our egos to think of.
The Kilted Heathen
Crow FreyjasmaðR
Hopping back in...
I get that we're primates. That we evolved from a common ancestor of all primates. I also understand that we are members of the "Animal Kingdom".
However... we made those kingdoms. They are the result of our classification of the world around us. I don't believe us to be bound by something that we've constructed; names included. I believe what sets us aside - and frankly above - apes is our higher intellect. Certainly, apes have observable societies and tool use function, but not on our level. Chimpanzees aren't quite setting up governments or building microprocessors. We are. We ponder things, we build things. We have ego and intellect and the ability to adapt to any environment. We change our bodies and refine genetics.
Recognizing where we came from is scientific honesty. But I think that saying we're animals, or saying that we're apes, denies and rejects our humanity and the very advanced things that we can do. We began as apes and animals, but we have become more.
I get that we're primates. That we evolved from a common ancestor of all primates. I also understand that we are members of the "Animal Kingdom".
However... we made those kingdoms. They are the result of our classification of the world around us. I don't believe us to be bound by something that we've constructed; names included. I believe what sets us aside - and frankly above - apes is our higher intellect. Certainly, apes have observable societies and tool use function, but not on our level. Chimpanzees aren't quite setting up governments or building microprocessors. We are. We ponder things, we build things. We have ego and intellect and the ability to adapt to any environment. We change our bodies and refine genetics.
Recognizing where we came from is scientific honesty. But I think that saying we're animals, or saying that we're apes, denies and rejects our humanity and the very advanced things that we can do. We began as apes and animals, but we have become more.
Vancouversailor
Member
Humans do have one feature which makes them distinct from animals. That is that from very early in their life and until the end of their life, they are aware of their own mortality. That awareness gives rise to a great amount of creativity, for some people at least, those who wish to leave their mark on planet Earth before they pass away.
That awareness is also one of the main reasons that humans, wherever or whoever they might be, tend to form religions which usually offer some solace to those who are close to the end of their life, or are pondering age old questions about the meaning of life. Unfortunately many of these religions tend to evolve into instruments where some people get to exercise control over others, something that is particularly prevalent within Christianity, and has been so throughout the history of that Church..
The Emperor of Mankind
Currently the galaxy's spookiest paraplegic
The animal kingdoms are descriptive labels, not prescriptive ones - they're descriptive of physical characteristics, not mental ones. We share over 90% of our DNA with other modern primates and our physiology so closely matches theirs' it would be foolish to deny a connection. Just because we're leagues more intelligent than gorillas or chimpanzees doesn't mean we get to class ourselves as a separate genus, group or kingdom of animal.
To answer the OP's question: yes. We are animals. We are inextricably a part of nature - not separated from or elevated above it.
निताइ dasa
Nitai's servant's servant
Yes and No.
Yes because we share four basic instincts with animals (eating,sleeping,mating and defending)
No because we have the capacity for moral understanding, while animals don't (and this grants us certain rights not awarded to other animals).
Yes because we share four basic instincts with animals (eating,sleeping,mating and defending)
No because we have the capacity for moral understanding, while animals don't (and this grants us certain rights not awarded to other animals).
True, in some capacities we're pretty "advanced," in others, not so much. We've developed better fine motor skill than than apes (apes are all thumbs), but we seem to have lost working memory and hand-eye co-ordination:
Birds see better than us, almost anything with a snout smells better than us (must..resist..obvious..joke) and lots of beasts hear better than us. Animals are good at what helps them survive.
Humans, on the other hand, have specialized in resource exploitation, and we've become so skillful we've overrun the planet and now threaten to collapse the whole ecosystem. Yes, we're a part of Nature, but so is Yersinia pestis.
I don't think these are definitive features of animals.
Not all animals"eat," in the sense of actively ingesting food. Not all even have a digestive system.
It hasn't been estasblished that all sleep, though many mammals appear to do so.
Animals reproduce, but not all individuals do. Some animals are parthenogenic, and some have only one sex.
Not all animals defend -- either themselves or others.
I'd say our moral agency invests us with certain obligations, but I don't see how it gives us any more rights than many other animals.
निताइ dasa
Nitai's servant's servant
It was just a rough translation from the sanskrit. Actually, this can also apply to some plants and even cellular organisms. A better one would be:
eating: animals seek out resources and process them for energy so that life is prolonged.
sleeping: All animals have some period of inactivity (which we can call sleep), thought not in the same way.
mating: yeah mating=reproduce in this case.
Defence: This is a higher function, but that is mean here that animals have a sense of "Mine", and understanding that I ought to protect either myself (survival) or that which belongs to me, either consciously or instinctively..
> say our moral agency invests us with certain obligations, but I don't see how it gives us any more rights than many other animals.
It is certainly how our society operates. We give certain inalienable rights to humans, that we don't give to animals. We must find a basis for why this discrimination exists, and capacity for moral understanding creates this clear division. It is certainly the basis of anthropomorphic theories of morality. Basically since morality is a human concept, only humans are ultimate moral ends (animals may have relative moral rights, but human rights are absolute ends). It is rationality or even its capacity/eventuality (ability to act upon representations of moral law) which gives a human being such inalienable rights.
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Guy Threepwood
Mighty Pirate
debatable apparently
Study: Man did not evolve from apes - UPI.com
www.upi.com › Science News
Oct 1, 2009 - A U.S. biological anthropologist says he's determined humans did not evolve from apes
we are distinct in pondering these things at all,
and we also use cutlery!