Is there anything that makes humans unique?
- Thread starter TwistedEllipses
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We are the only species that second-guess ourselves regularly, especially in matters such as these.
actually, going on a tangent here, what if animals did think like humans. For example, if dogs were racist. Yeah, lap dogs would get no respect from the sheperds and akidas out there.
actually, going on a tangent here, what if animals did think like humans. For example, if dogs were racist. Yeah, lap dogs would get no respect from the sheperds and akidas out there.
Well let's see. Right now, you're using a device to talk to people from across the globe instantly.
The answer should be obvious. It's intelligence.
The answer should be obvious. It's intelligence.
So far I'm not impressed with a lot of these claims.
Many (larger) animals have larger brains than humans, so the size isn't unique unless you're talking about relative to body mass.
Primates have thumbs and pandas um...kinda have a thumb (it's a modified wrist bone and not a finger.)
Bonobos enjoy sex, both hetero and homosexual, and also have prostitution just like humans. For those who are following along, that means they don't only use it for reproduction.
There are plenty of ethological studies of altruism that have demonstrated many animals act in a way consistent with their having a concept of "compassion."
Chimpanzees use tools, such as pointy sticks to fish for termites. Termites build huge artificial dwellings, so our architecture is different only in degree from that of "animals."
Many animals use vocalizations to communicate and we've proven that one can teach gorillas to use sign language, so we don't get to claim language except as a quantitative distinction rather than a qualitative one.
And everybody who says we suck, well, not exactly. Did you know humans are the premiere long-distance runners of the planet? If you pit a great human runner against a great racehorse, the human will still be going when the horse dies of cardiac arrest. A human won't beat a horse in an hour, but in 24 hours the human will be miles ahead of the horse. Of course I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that no animal would volunteer to train itself for ultrarunning so we haven't explored the animal's ability to adapt to fanatical exercise.
To answer the thread title question, honestly there isn't anything that makes humans unique. We evolved on the same planet as every other animal here from the same stuff. We're just one more species, and only a combination of several individually small differences in cognitive ability allow us to have this conversation that I'm pretty sure no other animal has had.
Many (larger) animals have larger brains than humans, so the size isn't unique unless you're talking about relative to body mass.
Primates have thumbs and pandas um...kinda have a thumb (it's a modified wrist bone and not a finger.)
Bonobos enjoy sex, both hetero and homosexual, and also have prostitution just like humans. For those who are following along, that means they don't only use it for reproduction.
There are plenty of ethological studies of altruism that have demonstrated many animals act in a way consistent with their having a concept of "compassion."
Chimpanzees use tools, such as pointy sticks to fish for termites. Termites build huge artificial dwellings, so our architecture is different only in degree from that of "animals."
Many animals use vocalizations to communicate and we've proven that one can teach gorillas to use sign language, so we don't get to claim language except as a quantitative distinction rather than a qualitative one.
And everybody who says we suck, well, not exactly. Did you know humans are the premiere long-distance runners of the planet? If you pit a great human runner against a great racehorse, the human will still be going when the horse dies of cardiac arrest. A human won't beat a horse in an hour, but in 24 hours the human will be miles ahead of the horse. Of course I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that no animal would volunteer to train itself for ultrarunning so we haven't explored the animal's ability to adapt to fanatical exercise.
To answer the thread title question, honestly there isn't anything that makes humans unique. We evolved on the same planet as every other animal here from the same stuff. We're just one more species, and only a combination of several individually small differences in cognitive ability allow us to have this conversation that I'm pretty sure no other animal has had.
We're the only animal that kills for no reason.
And the only one that avoids responsibility for its actions.
And the only one that avoids responsibility for its actions.
So every time a pit bull bites some toddler's face off there was a reason?The Sorrow said:
As for the second one, nice attempt at being philosophical or something, but how would you even measure something like that? What would be the operational definitions of Responsibility and Avoiding Responsibility that the animal would be working with?
1. Yes, actually. It felt threatened, or was hungry. Always a practical motive behind violence in animals.Lord Monocle Von Banworthy said:
2. Responsibility: Animals kill each other. They do it for a reason.
When people kill, they tend to try to make the victim seem less than human, or find an excuse.
That's waht I mean by responsibility.
What? Animals fight and kill other animals all the time other then food. Even primates are not unknown to kill other primates for sheer shits and giggles.The Sorrow said:
