Do you think man and animal are seperate?
If you think we are not, or are, why?

This post was last modified: 11-26-2006 09:16 AM by Kren.

I don't know if this true, but it's related to your question, and it came up in a "philosophical" discussion during a recent dinner : someone said that man is the only animal in the world that is aware of its death. Animals simply don't consider it, and live each day like they were going to live forever; without thinking of the future, in fact.

As I said, I don't know if that's true; someone also mentioned the fact that some animals have "dying rituals", like elephants, which go to some special place to die.

Any thoughts?

This post was last modified: 11-26-2006 11:32 PM by Pedro Timóteo.

Or Wales who sometimes wash themselves onto shore to die.
I'm pretty sure they all know what death is. Dogs howl sometimes when a "friend" of thiers dies. They also fight for thier lives... they know what death is, are aware of thier own mortality and act accordingly.

I do think that humans may have less instincts, or at least more ... mallable instincts. There is also the obvious difference of intelect and enginuity which one could draw a line somewhere between man and animal.
Man seems to be the only animal in the world who has a sense of an afterlife. (Wether or not that sense makes any)

Humans are animals. The "difference" is specism..

We assume at least, until recently we're not animals because we assumed that we where the only species that was aware of it's place in it's environment, some people still cling to this, but it's actually fully possible for almost any animal to become depressed when it realizes that it's environment is limited. This is one of the primary reasons pet tortoises need to be kept in outdoor environments, rather than in a room, as they quite quickly realize that they are trapped.
Ultimately the only reason I can see for the difference between "human" and animal emotion and consciousness, is we have simply evolved to a level where we can be objective and study our consciousnesses and emotions.

Just random thoughts, the following...

One can't (IMO) that there is not a GIANT leap between humans and our closest of "kin". Apes. Our enginuity is so much more profound. I mean, language is one thing, dolphins talk to one another. But we have written text. Sophisticated machinary that carries us from A to B using mechanics that most of us don't fully understand even though we ride in them every day. This kind of inteligence/enginuity is vastly different from any other living species.

LIVING species mind you. So what happened? Cross breeding?
Or at one point, did it become that the survival of the fittest became survival of the smartest?
Evolution is a valid concept. I read recently about frogs in Australia, growing longer legs and traveling at speeds unexpected to us.

Yet questions remain, a lot... most of which I can't even think of, however... one must think that ONE species (humans) being THIS inclined in mental aspects, is kind of like a pioneer plant. Just trying to reach the beginning of the tundra. Only to fall... short.
What, say you, the reason for only one species being this evolved?
Pioneer plants aren't just one species... many actually. Why can't lizards be smart? Or even other mammals? Elephants? Bears? A lot of which who may have lived before even apes?

Damn... I've gotta write another thread.

Kren,

If you are truly intersted in OTHER animal cognitive abitlity check out the work with African Grey parrots, as well as the other primates (before you dismiss them so quickly). The "giant" leap you see seems to me to be stipulated and supported only by that self-same stipulation. You are asserting a difference in type with near identity between the two groups, so logically speaking this simply does not hold water.

Sorry, can't resist it...

- Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

This post was last modified: 12-02-2006 11:18 PM by Pedro Timóteo.

I saw the movie and I love that part... every other part instead, I didn't.
So I get the point as maybe a KIND of inteligence.

People think that since they know an atom can cause this much energy, they are better than an annimal just living thier lives to the fullest.

The problem is that understanding this much, even in different aspects, can lead one to understanding and therefore prolonging thier species' own existance.
If it were up to me, we'd have deciferred the language of Dolphins (they DO have one as far as I can tell) and ourselves and instead of asking them to understand us, translate it all to see what they can ACTUALLY understand.

However, a big difference is that (in a realistic fictional stating) if the earth was in danger of say a large asteroid, no dolphin would be able to stop it, maybe not even able to detect it until of course, it's too late.

We however have this power... even as a species, we as a species have this power, and as this specific species are charged with the actions to preserve ourselves along with all other innocent beings on this planet.

Does knowlege not include more responsibility?
"With great power comes great..." (Spiderman, I know)

However it goes to provide the point.
We have much more knowledge, and therefore much more responsibility, is this not a difference that we have, as apposed to animals?