Hi, all...srry to butt in at such a late moment in the debate...
BUT THE TOPIC WAS SO ENTICING!!!
Anyways, I'm not entirely certain what the specific topic is at the moment, but have gathered that we are attempting to descern whether a human being is an "animal" or not. If so, I shall not be wasting my time in posting what I believe to be true.
First, to define any living thing within the category of "animal" one must first understand the very definition of animal itself. To me, an animal is a being whose actions are defined and determined by its instincts, a driving inner force, being embedded within their very DNA from conception, which determines what they do on an hourly, daily and life-long basis. What goals they pursue, which items to focus on, how to react to certain circumstances as a result of their "guiding system" which has been "tuned" by their past experiences. If we were to have evolved from such beings one would be led to conclude that we, ourselves, are also animals. Certainly such a conclustion seems logical. We have the same basic traits, the same impulses to survive and fulfill a certain purpose.
As stated clearly by crashfrog, we can't even truly descern between the cells of other creatures and those of ourselves. It all points in the same direction- we...are...animals.
HOWEVER, allow me to submit you this... what if, at one point in evolution (assuming evolution was the cause of our conception) we had broken apart from the tract we are associating ourselves with? What if we became higher beings, with a further driving purpose than simply to conform to instinctual drives? I believe that our simple ability to rationalize (and make appealing posts on the internet being fueled by logic and morals) and our ability to inherently depict what is right from what is wrong that has seperated us from animals.
I ask you to present to me any other creature which can do so; choose between right and wrong, or what's more, discern right from wrong (the ability we gained as a result from the forbidden apple, I believe). Yes, apes can assign certain colors to remembered objects and parrots can imitate the vibrations of our vocal cords (talk), but where is the rationalization of that?
What I am saying is that these "animals" have great skills, some which surpass our own, in their senses and perception, but that they can go no further. There is a definable and perceptable mental wall between the animals and ourselves. WE....ARE...NOT...ANIMALS, no matter what links, or similarities we might share with the animals, as stated previously, there is a certain distinction between them and ourselves, one which I believe is very difficult to overlook...
added line breaks to make reading easier - The Queen
This message has been edited by AdminAsgara, 09-20-2005 08:11 AM
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