What separates man from the animals.

Swampy · Post by **Swampy** » 23 Jul 2004 11:42

I've lately been swamped with thoughts on this topic. The philosophers say it's the free will that separates us from the brutes. But thinking deeper about it, it seems like the brutes are not so willless and the man freeful (notice the new word combinations

). For example, a man, wishing to demonstrate his free will, takes a choice not to eat a sandwich, but still he will feel bad about it and want the sandwich, thus exzibiting his dependance on the sandwich. Another example, a dog, bewaring of being hit with a stick, refrains from eating a piece of meat.

The question of being separate from the animals leads to religious doubts and doubts of meaningless lives. What do YOU think?

Matt · Post by **Matt** » 23 Jul 2004 11:52

opposable thumbs

Matt · Post by **Matt** » 23 Jul 2004 11:52

oh snap, no edit

also, the advanced use of tools.

420FootBager · Post by **420FootBager** » 23 Jul 2004 11:54

We are animals it's a scientfic fact we have sexual desires not because it's fun (although it is) but to propigate or species like all other animals we hunt we eat we crap we breath we drink just like every other animal in the world. We are not sperate from animals at all we are animals.

However what seprates us from the beasts is oposable thumbs and larger better designed brains......

I sometimes wonder if we truly are the smartest animals smart animals like dolphins or whales could be like ten times smarter then us but we would never really know because they don't have thumbs.... they could be the most brilliant philosophers ever. (<sorry for the philosphical trip im a wee bit stoned

)

Swampy · Post by **Swampy** » 23 Jul 2004 12:07

What about the soul? God? Jesus? Footbag?

The development of the brain still doesn't prove your ticket to the afterlife.

420FootBager · Post by **420FootBager** » 23 Jul 2004 12:11

animals don't have a soul OR a god? wtf is that?????

and i don't belive in jesus as many people.... so jesus does not seperate us from the animals at all...

Swampy · Post by **Swampy** » 23 Jul 2004 12:16

When was the last time you saw a horse in the mass?

PS. I mentioned Jesus just to refer to religion. I'm not too religious either.

brian relly · Post by **brian relly** » 23 Jul 2004 12:39

There is no difference, except whatever bullshit explanation we've created culturally.

Hell, we even look just like monkeys. Whenever I look at someone, I start compairing them to a monkey, and it's not that hard to do.

420FootBager · Post by **420FootBager** » 23 Jul 2004 12:56

dude your only thinking christian what if your god is not the true god? I am asatru and I belive animals have souls they have emotions like ours and share all the physical properties we have but magicaly we have a soul and they don't?

Im not a tree hugger or activist or anything but If we belive that we have souls why wouldn't an animal have a soul.
A larger brain does make a soul.

Tsiangkun · Post by **Tsiangkun** » 23 Jul 2004 13:17

Sentience.

Swampy · Post by **Swampy** » 23 Jul 2004 13:24

Firstly, I don't believe in "multiple religions". I think all the religions refer to the same God, the unconceivable. For all the religions have risen from one, but they have divided due to people spreading. So saying that some god might not be true and the other false is dogshit.

And about souls. Well, this is the topic to discuss it: whether we have souls or not. I believe "the soul", as we call it, is just the free will, not the developed brain. I still need to read that "Free will" of Voltaire. Pardon me for being offhand

.

Moreover, an elephant has bigger brains. How come we don't see elephants constructing their own internet and technologies? (Reference to "A larger brain does make a soul"). Hence:

For instance, if a human brain were massed against an elephant brain, the elephant brain would most likely have a reading of around 6000g compared to the measly 1300 g human brain. However, elephants aren't able to add numbers or understand Shakespeare (wait a minute, who can understand Shakespeare?) - they barely possess anywhere near the vast and complex mental capabilities of humans. Generally, larger animals have larger brains to control things like larger muscle mass, but more brain does not mean more intelligence. Thus, size does not matter . . . or does it?

And so, I didn't really prove anything in these paragraphs, did I?

It's one of the eternally complex questions, isn't it?

FlexThis · Post by **FlexThis** » 23 Jul 2004 14:15

We are sheep.

And monkeys have thumbs.

Opposable Thumbs
Monkeys and apes have thumbs that are higher up on the palm than the rest of the fingers so the thumb can work with the other four digits to grasp branches or food. Howler monkeys also have five-toed grasping feet, including an opposable thumb.

bigdirtyfoot · Post by **bigdirtyfoot** » 23 Jul 2004 14:34

We're no different, we're more advanced "communication-wise"... we have the ability to evolve quicker by learning from others' mistakes globally, because of things like history books and telephones and the internet. That's really the only thing.

420FootBager · Post by **420FootBager** » 23 Jul 2004 18:27

First off there are religions predating christianity and judiasm by hundreds of years so how are all religions formed from the same one?

Elephants mayB brilleint philosophical creatures for all you know but they can't smpeak and don't have fingers or thumbs to prove tthere intelligence with..... we would never know.....

marc · Post by **marc** » 23 Jul 2004 18:41

We're smarter. That's the only true difference I see.

bigdirtyfoot · Post by **bigdirtyfoot** » 23 Jul 2004 22:16

420FootBager wrote:First off there are religions predating christianity and judiasm by hundreds of years so how are all religions formed from the same one?

True... such as Wicca... but even then... I think he's talking about the mainstream religions? I don't know.

420FootBager · Post by **420FootBager** » 24 Jul 2004 09:24

try asatru, buddism, wodenism, druid, greek mythology..... As a matter of fact before christianity forcefully took over the wold during the Crusades nearly every country and certainly every continent had its own mythology or form of religion but just because yours was forced upon the most peopl suddenly your religion is right????? learn some history.

Most of those religions show respect to animals because there flesh and milk and other bountys help us to survive. Almoswt all pre-christian religions belived animals have souls so who are you to say they don't?

The ONLY thing that seprates us is our better developed brains and most of all our well developed hands and apendages.

bigdirtyfoot · Post by **bigdirtyfoot** » 24 Jul 2004 10:51

420FootBager wrote:try asatru, buddism, wodenism, druid, greek mythology..... As a matter of fact before christianity forcefully took over the wold during the Crusades nearly every country and certainly every continent had its own mythology or form of religion but just because yours was forced upon the most peopl suddenly your religion is right????? learn some history.
[/b]

Well okay sure I was just giving an example. And I don't feel like arguing about that. We can do that in another thread. I just want to point out that I'm not Christian... I didn't think you were directing this towards me, but if you were, then now you know.

420FootBager · Post by **420FootBager** » 24 Jul 2004 11:05

No it was not directed tworads anybody in particualr just some info....

No bad feelings on you

comastalker · Post by **comastalker** » 01 Aug 2004 06:27

besides the ones mentioned I have to add : enormous neuronal differences.
But you may find tons of differences; I have one answer :
We were locked in a plain surrounded by mountains, what increased desertification and forced us to walk upright (less surface for the hot sun to warm up). Going upright meant another back musculature and bone-structure. The bones went down in our body, making place for a bigger brain and for a small gap enabling us to speak. That it is, the rest is evolution (= random events). You don't need to mention further differences (btw whales and dolphins can't be that intelligent, their neurons have place for around 200-300 synapses, the human neurons have place for over 20000, that's what makes it impossible for them to be that "advanced" (same with elephants

))
btw, "soul" is an invention, if animals have a "soul", they have a "god", a "karma", a balanced "chi" and "a good and an evil puppet on each shoulder" telling them what to do.
We are "better" than animals (in a biological aspect), but we don't have more rights. Darwin has never been a philosoph, but defined what legitimates murder : hunger. Kill animals to feed your hunger, nothing more. Mass production, selection and institutionalization are genocide.
You don't have to be vegan to be a good human, even with using toilet paper you support the killing of more animals than with eating one, do something against mass production and injustice distribution (why doesn an american has to eat madagascian sweet-water fish ? They import that bullshit and spend tons of money that distribute all over the world but almost nothing gets in the hand of the ones fishing them. They die of hunger instead of eating their one fucking fishes, because it's more profitable; that's just a small example, but it shows the reasons why millions of people die each year and if you trace their bloodline, it ends in the stomachs of 1st world population. That by the way also seperates us from the animals, they could never do such egoistic non-sense shit and by this kill their own species)