The difference between Human and animal

[Segev Moran]

Hi all,
A lot of times I hear people saying that humans differ from animals due to their consciousness...
that the fact we are aware of ourselves is the difference...
thus assuming animals are not self aware..
have no desires and no understanding of pain, grief and such.

But all over nature, we keep finding out new animal behaviors that contradict this assumption
For example,
Elephants grief and mourn their dead... When a herd of elephants come across a dead elephant in their path, they actually go to it, and mourn over it....
They are known species of spiders that actually decide the "job" of each spider based on it's traits. this shows not a decision based on instincts alone but rather an understanding that a coward spider cannot be a soldier
Dolphins are known to have a very high intelligence and social awareness. They have a caring and loving approach to their young old and sick...

Come to say, There are so many facts that we are yet to know about animals, but as discoveries are made, it is clear that humans uniqueness is not as big as it seems.

besides all that, Humans, still, with all their knowledge, intelligence, socialite, culture and morality..
are instinctive creatures...
If you'll face a human with a life threatening situation.. his instincts will kick in and do everything that is needed to survive...
If a man will be forced to kill a man or die himself.. sadly, many will choose their lives over someone else..
Instinct...

As i see it.. Human's mechanism is much inferior than the animals'.
The fact that we now "control" our earth.. just shows how bad of species we are...

No animal will ever harm it's own environment...
No animal will ever harm another just for the fun of it (excluding white whales that use animals as a game - but it is actually the way they "sharpen" their hunting instincts)

So why do you think GOD will create such a wonder like humans when clearly we are a hazard to it's own created world?
Why would a GOD need a human?
What is the purpose of creating a species like the human?

 

[Jayhawker Soule]

Humans suck therefore god doesn't exist. Wow, I've never heard such a robust argument before.

 

[Segev Moran]

Humans suck therefore god doesn't exist. Wow, I've never heard such a robust argument before.

Of-course.. this is a great argument.
The first claim of the creationist is how amazing the creation is.. its so amazing that only an inteligent supreme being could plan and devise such sofistication and wonder.

The claim is that the universe was made for the humans...
Us.. the glory of its creation.

So yes.. if humans suck... i guess GOD is not that all powerful after all.

I'm a developer..
when i code something that sucks... i fix it!
Where is our version 2.0?

Christianity????

 

[BSM1]

Hi all,
A lot of times I hear people saying that humans differ from animals due to their consciousness...
that the fact we are aware of ourselves is the difference...
thus assuming animals are not self aware..
have no desires and no understanding of pain, grief and such.

But all over nature, we keep finding out new animal behaviors that contradict this assumption
For example,
Elephants grief and mourn their dead... When a herd of elephants come across a dead elephant in their path, they actually go to it, and mourn over it....
They are known species of spiders that actually decide the "job" of each spider based on it's traits. this shows not a decision based on instincts alone but rather an understanding that a coward spider cannot be a soldier
Dolphins are known to have a very high intelligence and social awareness. They have a caring and loving approach to their young old and sick...

Come to say, There are so many facts that we are yet to know about animals, but as discoveries are made, it is clear that humans uniqueness is not as big as it seems.

besides all that, Humans, still, with all their knowledge, intelligence, socialite, culture and morality..
are instinctive creatures...
If you'll face a human with a life threatening situation.. his instincts will kick in and do everything that is needed to survive...
If a man will be forced to kill a man or die himself.. sadly, many will choose their lives over someone else..
Instinct...

As i see it.. Human's mechanism is much inferior than the animals'.
The fact that we now "control" our earth.. just shows how bad of species we are...

No animal will ever harm it's own environment...
No animal will ever harm another just for the fun of it (excluding white whales that use animals as a game - but it is actually the way they "sharpen" their hunting instincts)

So why do you think GOD will create such a wonder like humans when clearly we are a hazard to it's own created world?
Why would a GOD need a human?
What is the purpose of creating a species like the human?

Your post is so anthropomorphically flawed it's almost laughable. For instance, you are assuming the elephants are "mourning' their dead. There is absolutely no way to determine that this action to equates to human mourning. You also assume there is a "boss" spider that can plan and delegate authority. Pure Disney.

Humans by the very definition of instincts have none. Humans have intuition and reasoning, animals do not.

Animals not harming their environment? Go look at what a possession of Army Ants leave behind. Or look at a farm field that has been overgrazed. Or look at trees that have stripped bare by primates and other arboreal species. Animals have no concept of environment past their next meal.

What other species would you have in control of the earth? Apes? Tigers? Snail Darters?

No offense, but I think I'll keep my superiority, thank you very much.

 

[George-ananda]

Why would a GOD need a human?

I think the purpose is to find the Oneness of All life through love. A more sophisticated creature can go farther down that path.

 

[Tumah]

The difference between Human and animal

No animal will ever harm it's own environment...
No animal will ever harm another just for the fun of it (excluding white whales that use animals as a game - but it is actually the way they "sharpen" their hunting instincts

Answered.

 

[metis]

Actually we do have instincts, although with us they are more typically referred to as "reflexes", such as the "rooting reflex" (sucking). Babies borne without this reflex typically died quite quickly, but nowadays medical staff can actually teach the baby how to do this.

Elephants indeed do mourn the dead as do chimps. Chimps and gorillas even have self-awareness, evidenced by the fact that they can recognize a mirror-image of themselves instead of thinking that it's just another ape. We also well know that many animals use reason versus something that was just instinctive, and there's myriads of examples of that.

 

[metis]

...but I think I'll keep my superiority, thank you very much.

Wait, who says you're superior?

BTW, there are many areas whereas other animals are superior to us as cognition is only one set of skills.

 

[Jayhawker Soule]

Of-course.. this is a great argument.
The first claim of the creationist is how amazing the creation is..

What pretentious drivel: instead of an intelligent argument against deity you offer a crass formulation aimed at destroying your childish caricature of the more crass creationists. You're not doing yourself any favors here.

 

[BSM1]

Wait, who says you're superior?

BTW, there are many areas whereas other animals are superior to us as cognition is only one set of skills.

Just asking that question lowers you on the food chain.

 

[Augustus]

Humans need to create complex stories, myths and narratives to justify their own existence and are aware of their life playing out in relation to these. Other animals don't have such a need.

Other than that there is very little that is unique about us, either in a good or bad sense. Just a matter of scale.

 

[Demonslayer]

Humans by the very definition of instincts have none.

That's not even remotely true.

 

[Raahim]

We are not hazardous, that's really silly claim. Each & one of us has free will, it's up to us on how we will live.
Why would you look at humans as something bad? Because news basically cover only bad stuff happening in the world? There is good in many people, but those are minority in whole - but still that doesn't make us bad. Humans are superior to animals, but that does not mean we need to be jerks to them.

 

[Terrywoodenpic]

People are animals
We seem to fit into a class of animals that can identify each other as intelligent .
We do not yet know if there are any other animals that also fit in this class.
However it is clear that other animals are aware of them selves and each other, that can communicate, that can make and use tools, and that do seem to appreciate beauty and are curious about the world.
Other Animals can work out how to do complex tasks. and learn that human words have meaning.
They seem to be able to learn quite a lot about us, and take advantage of it.

However all this is comparing them to human knowledge and skills.
The skills that they use everyday to communicate and survive is rather beyond our comprehension so we call it "Instinct"
The more we learn about them the more we realise that they too learn, and more and more of this "instinctive" behaviour is in fact learnt from their peers.

I do not believe we are different in Kind, so much as further down the road.

There is no reason at all to believe, that other beings might not develop to a far greater extent than we ever will.

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

Your post is so anthropomorphically flawed it's almost laughable. For instance, you are assuming the elephants are "mourning' their dead. There is absolutely no way to determine that this action to equates to human mourning. You also assume there is a "boss" spider that can plan and delegate authority. Pure Disney.

Humans by the very definition of instincts have none. Humans have intuition and reasoning, animals do not.

Animals not harming their environment? Go look at what a possession of Army Ants leave behind. Or look at a farm field that has been overgrazed. Or look at trees that have stripped bare by primates and other arboreal species. Animals have no concept of environment past their next meal.

What other species would you have in control of the earth? Apes? Tigers? Snail Darters?

No offense, but I think I'll keep my superiority, thank you very much.

My dog has more empathy than you've expressed in this post. Shameful.

 

[Terrywoodenpic]

Your post is so anthropomorphically flawed it's almost laughable. For instance, you are assuming the elephants are "mourning' their dead. There is absolutely no way to determine that this action to equates to human mourning. You also assume there is a "boss" spider that can plan and delegate authority. Pure Disney.

Humans by the very definition of instincts have none. Humans have intuition and reasoning, animals do not.

Animals not harming their environment? Go look at what a possession of Army Ants leave behind. Or look at a farm field that has been overgrazed. Or look at trees that have stripped bare by primates and other arboreal species. Animals have no concept of environment past their next meal.

What other species would you have in control of the earth? Apes? Tigers? Snail Darters?

No offense, but I think I'll keep my superiority, thank you very much.

You clearly have no superiority, nor much imaginations, and almost nil empathy. in fact if there is no gain in it you probably don't even think about it.
In what way does intuition differ from Instinct... both are concepts covering the unexplained ability to do or know things.?

 

[Nous]

No animal will ever harm it's own environment...

Particularly because of their habit of pushing trees over in order to eat the leaves from the top, elephants are known to do major damage to an ecological system, reducing the biodiversity, as shown by the area in and around Kruger Park in South Africa, where elephants have left hundreds of acres of scoured landscape. I have no doubt that there are many other species (including plants) that reduce the biodiversity that they depend on.

No animal will ever harm another just for the fun of it (excluding white whales that use animals as a game - but it is actually the way they "sharpen" their hunting instincts)

House cats who are not hungry will often catch mice and play with them until their dead.

By noting these things, I am not trying to excuse any of humans' bad behavior.

 

[BSM1]

You clearly have no superiority, nor much imaginations, and almost nil empathy. in fact if there is no gain in it you probably don't even think about it.
In what way does intuition differ from Instinct... both are concepts covering the unexplained ability to do or know things.?

Perhaps you should look up the definitions of instinct and intuition before pontificating on whether they are the same.

 

[BSM1]

My dog has more empathy than you've expressed in this post. Shameful.

Your dog would eat your dead body if the situation arose and never bat an eye.

 

[BSM1]

That's not even remotely true.

Maybe you should look up the definition of instinct also.