Are humans more important than animals?

[bluesonic1]

....in Africa, rape is pretty much like saying hello when meeting a stranger here. :l a lot of them don't exactly have much of a choice in that.

There's also the fact it's not the kid's fault it was born there. They didn't choose to be there.

I'd feel sympathy for the children. Not for the people that had them.

When you live in South Africa, you'll understand. We give them free education, water, electricity, housing and still have charities that donate money to the poor people there. How do they repay us? They kill us, because we're the "white man".

Everything a person does is their choice.

[Sorrowgrave]

*ahem*

Tasmanian tiger

Warren

Dodo

Blue buck

Canis nehringi

Chatham Islands Raven, (Corvus moriorum)

New Zealand Raven, (Corvus antipodum)

 

North Island Raven, (Corvus antipodum antipodum)

South Island Raven, (Corvus antipodum pycrafti)

Beringian cave lion

dire wolf

Flordia short faced bear

Mammoth

megalania

how many of you can tell me what all these animals are?

 

and I mean ALL and where they are from

 

these are ALL animals that humans have driven over the edge, via over hunting or just not liking.

All of them were in their native envioments then people. the most invasive speices in the world took over and killed them all off.

 

When animals die out no one cares for more than a week.

When people die out we're still studing and talking about it 60+years later

WW II as my example what that was was a failed plan to exterimenate a minortiy group, many actually but the one that gets the most reconition is the jewish. no one talks about the Romi, Gypsy what ever you want to call it.

 

We're a race of hypocrites who put a price on everything only in the last 200 years has it became illiegal to sell ourselves. None of my cats were bought they were all strays who I fed or took in and they just decided to stay. You don't own animals you have non-human roommates

 

I if I could would much rather be a Raven than a person I'm not a people person at all

 

So No humans are NOT more important than animals

[Kazeko]

Animals have no individual conscience we know of, and thus are unaware of the conceptions of modern society...

Umm... O_o Yes they do. Scientific evidence. The mirror test is only the beginning.

 

IMO, humans = animals. Of course a human will prefer to save a human than an animal; simple biological prerogative, but humans are neither inherently superior nor inherently inferior to animals. All life--all life--is important, whether it's a cricket, an elephant, or a human.

 

Why? Simple. We are animals. Asking "are humans more important than animals" is like asking "is granite more important than slate". Certain animals, or certain types of stone, are good for certain things, and good at certain things. That doesn't mean granite is naturally better than slate, or vice versa.

 

EDIT: Oh, and about the two-child law. One-child is actually better for a couple generations; knock us down from going-on-seven-billion to a little less than two billion. Then raise it to two, maybe three children. And after a woman has had her third child, routine sterilization. China had the right idea, just went about it wrong. -shrug-

Edited November 18, 2010 by Kazeko

[Vexx]

Everything a person does is their choice.

I didn't realize an egg and a sperm had a conscious choice in fusing into an embryo and later being born as a baby in Africa.

How dare those children choose to be born, then!

[RuthlessWolves]

Simply put, some animals such as dolphins and other animals are quite smart. Hyenas and some other animals work socially ( soucers: New York Times. Please no flaming >: ) together to solve a problem, so are moderately smart. Below that... you just have no idea if its thinking or not

 

I'd say animals. Many were driven to extinction by humans, and some are near death of their species. Overpopulation in humans, we need to focus on the animals right now.

Edited November 18, 2010 by RuthlessWolves

[Bee Teno]

I care for animals more, we have wrecked this world far worse than any other specie. When we all die, the animals would have a ton more land for them to inhabit. Remember the dodo? Thylacine? Others? WE are the reason (Except for pandas) for several species. So I would donate for animals, not the fuzzy little ones specifically.

[RheaZen]

Hactually, with the whole animal-intelligence human-intelligence thing... it seems that the higher the intellect, the more evil a species can be.

There's us. There's chimps, who will eat the babies of other chimps. There's dolphins, who will gang-rape other dolphins.

I feel the intelligence point is not much of a point at all.

[Digidude123]

I can't choose, I really can't

 

What if there was only one panda left in the world, and he was dieing, then there was a random person dieing, which would you save?

 

I mean, theres plently of people that get born everyday, and plenty that die too, but there's not many pandas left

[Bee Teno]

What if there was only one panda left in the world, and he was dieing, then there was a random person dieing, which would you save?

The human, pandas are biologically unfit.

[Kazeko]

The panda.

 

Only remaining example of a species > one out of six-point-seven billion of a species, biological prerogative be damned.

 

Actually, it wouldn't really matter if there was only one. Nothing to breed with. With cloning technology, which we would need in that case, it doesn't really matter whether the panda is alive or dead, so long as it has valid DNA.

 

Edit @ Rhea: I don't think elephants are particularly evil, though, and they're quite intelligent.

 

I once read a short story where elephants were god. It was a very weird short story.

Edited November 18, 2010 by Kazeko

[crazywargod]

Fiction, right?

 

I don't quite get the second part of your post.

I think so but it wasn't actually mind blowing fantasy. It was completely realistic. It was a book they made you read in school along with lord of the flies. It showed a VERY possible outcome to a two child limit.

 

 

The last part meant if they put something make it infertility or don't do anything at all.

[Kazeko]

Not technically. There are birds that can talk. Sure it is mostly mimicry it is still speech. We are just the most advanced (brainwise).

 

Not actually. Dolphins and birds have very complex communication systems, as well as meerkats, elephants, most other cetaceans... do you need me to go on? Whales actually sing. It's not just vocalizing, it's singing--they rhyme, repeat phrases, and suchlike. Music. Singing. And the more we study, the more evidence there is that humans are not by any means the most intelligent species--corvids and cetaceans have been shown to have many humanlike thought capabilities, as well as, of course, chimps.

[Sesshomaru]

I think so but it wasn't actually mind blowing fantasy. It was completely realistic. It was a book they made you read in school along with lord of the flies. It showed a VERY possible outcome to a two child limit.

 

 

The last part meant if they put something make it infertility or don't do anything at all.

Are you perhaps referring to The Giver by Lois Lowry?

[crazywargod]

Not actually. Dolphins and birds have very complex communication systems, as well as meerkats, elephants, most other cetaceans... do you need me to go on? Whales actually sing. It's not just vocalizing, it's singing--they rhyme, repeat phrases, and suchlike. Music. Singing. And the more we study, the more evidence there is that humans are not by any means the most intelligent species--corvids and cetaceans have been shown to have many humanlike thought capabilities, as well as, of course, chimps.

Then how did we, not them, create language? Math, science, art................ What do we have that they don't? There must be something with our brain that is more advanced then those animals to be able to do what we do. I never specified intelligence btw.

 

 

No miral. The giver was a fantasy. The book I'm talking about was a realistic, non-fantasy, fiction.

[RheaZen]

So what if our brains allow us to make pretty pictures and equations?

I mean, why would they bother? lol no need for math in the ocean. Our intelligence is largely constructed.

 

... The Giver isn't fantasy.

[Vexx]

Then how did we, not them, create language? Math, science, art................ What do we have that they don't? There must be something with our brain that is more advanced then those animals to be able to do what we do. I never specified intelligence btw.

We didn't create language. :l We just make noises and shapes that everyone can recognize and we teach our young to recognize them as well.

We don't really have intelligence... We just have various ways that we try to explain everything around us in some way. lD that's all that math and science is- recognizing patterns in certain things.

[crazywargod]

So what if our brains allow us to make pretty pictures and equations?

I mean, why would they bother? lol no need for math in the ocean. Our intelligence is largely constructed.

 

... The Giver isn't fantasy.

It has fantasy elements. C'mon memory transfer through touch how is that NOT fantasy?

[RheaZen]

Maybe an element, but I can hardly see it as a fantasy novel.

 

Could you give a little more info on what the book in question was like, then?

[crazywargod]

Maybe an element, but I can hardly see it as a fantasy novel.

 

Could you give a little more info on what the book in question was like, then?

It had no fantasy elements. Anything in the book can actually happen.

 

I believe the name had "alone" in it somewhere. It was a rural like setting if IRC. It has been a few years and I don't remember much. I just remember it was non-fantasy and it took place in a society where you can have two kids only (food shortage I believe) and any third child was illegal.

[RheaZen]

Hm. Maybe try posting a descrip in the books section? IIRC there's a thread for finding books you can't remember the title to.

 

And, er, the main topic. Um. What were we talking about again?

[Sesshomaru]

The Giver is considered soft science fiction, not fantasy, if you want the specifics.

 

And yes, I believe "animals" are more important than "humans." (Humans are technically animals, but that's a little beside the point.) Although I have to say that I believe in the individual; just not the species as a whole.

[grimace]

Not actually. Dolphins and birds have very complex communication systems, as well as meerkats, elephants, most other cetaceans... do you need me to go on? Whales actually sing. It's not just vocalizing, it's singing--they rhyme, repeat phrases, and suchlike. Music. Singing. And the more we study, the more evidence there is that humans are not by any means the most intelligent species--corvids and cetaceans have been shown to have many humanlike thought capabilities, as well as, of course, chimps.

This.

There are/have been apes and birds you could have legitimate conversations with.

 

Also, cephalopods are crazysmart. Too bad they only live a few years, and then suddenly die.

[RheaZen]

This.

There are/have been apes and birds you could have legitimate conversations with.

 

Also, cephalopods are crazysmart. Too bad they only live a few years, and then suddenly die.

:< RIP Paul.

[Cheeze]

Intelligent life > unintelligent life

 

That said, if a species is endangered, then some priority should be given to it, because extinction could upset a whole food chain, etc. Plus just for scientific research and stuff.

[TPishek]

The book you're thinking of is Among the Hidden. Not a happy story. (Think mass murder of children.)