Humans are animals, right?

Originally posted by Jigtie
Ok, so you agree that humans are animals, but that they're also something more (infused with a
greater conciousness)? Like a hammer is a tool, but unlike the saw, the hammer is perfectly
adapted for use when putting nails in place (and also for bluntly damaging your own thumb)?

Different animals have evolved differently, there's no question about that. ...[text shortened]... lls flat, and I'd appreciate some detail on exactly how you think it can't be.

🙂

The brain is an instrument for the Mind.
(you can work out the rest)

Originally posted by Jigtie
Right?

Yes, though it seems that a lot of humans feel compelled to place themselves above other species in some way. So they say things like "A very special animal", "Definately not to be lumped together with other animals", "Humans have the ability to question", "However we have been 'infused' with a 'greater conciosness'", etc. Ego boosting, no doubt. Something akin to "humans are special", so that makes me special too.

By the way, the line "I am not an animal" has appeared in a number of films. I can think of two for sure, but want to say there were more. Can anyone name some?

Originally posted by ThinkOfOne
Yes, though it seems that a lot of humans feel compelled to place themselves above other species in some way. So they say things like "A very special animal", "Definately not to be lumped together with other animals", "Humans have the ability to question", "However we have been 'infused' with a 'greater conciosness'", etc. Ego boosting, no doubt. Somethin ...[text shortened]... an think of two for sure, but want to say there were more. Can anyone name some?

No we are more than animals, God made US in His likeness and image, not animals.

Originally posted by daniel58
No we are more than animals, God made US in His likeness and image, not animals.

Like I said.

Originally posted by ThinkOfOne
Like I said.

yeah, like you said

No single, essential difference separates human beings from other animals.' So began a feature article on evolution in TIME magazine ('How Man Began', March 14, 1994). The more I thought about this sweeping statement the more I began to warm to it.

For example, like humans, apes have well formed rational faculties. Their ability to develop an argument, follow a line of logic, draw conclusions and frame hypotheses is quite remarkable.

Also like humans, apes have a marked faculty for language. (This, of course, is intertwined with their powers of reason.) Their vocabulary is enormous, their grammar complex, and their conversations deep and meaningful.

The apes' ability to codify language in writing is further proof of their close relationship to humans. In this respect, it was most gratifying to see the number of apes who wrote to TIME magazine in response to the article on 'How Man Began'. I was particularly interested to follow the line of reasoning of the orang-utan who argued that apes had evolved from humans, not vice versa.

Like humans, apes also have a strong spirit of inquiry. Their research in the fields of astronomy, mathematics, medicine and physics is noteworthy.

Apes also (again, like humans) yearn for meaning in life. This is why they devote so much of their time to philosophy, theology and ethics. The religious sentiments and practices of all apes can be traced back to their intense and endless quest for meaning.

Apes are concerned about questions not only of origin but also of destiny. The best proof I can offer for this claim is the maxim by one famous ape philosopher who said, 'Whether my life leads ultimately to the dirt or to the Judgment, either way, I've got a problem.'

Apes also have, like humans, a refined aesthetic sense. They admire beauty and long to surround themselves with it. When an ape cultivates a garden, puts flowers in a vase, or hangs up a painting, what is it doing if not expressing a love of beauty?

Again like humans, apes have a strong creative impulse. This is seen in their poetry, painting, dance, drama and music. To a lesser extent their creativity is also evident in the way they gather in weekly craft groups to weave baskets, spin wool, knit shawls, and cover photo albums.

The sense of humour shared by all apes is another proof of their close kinship to humans. Their delight in the ridiculous and their love of a good laugh is plain from the popular ape jokes they tell.

Reason, language, inquiry, wonder, longing, religion, morality, aesthetics, creativity, imagination, aspiration and humour ... such intangible but fundamental qualities are by no means unique to humans, as I hope I have conclusively shown. Therefore, in the profound words of TIME magazine: 'No single, essential difference separates human beings from other animals'.

This being the case, Christians are plainly wrong to insist that humans and animals are vastly different. And they are also obviously wrong to insist that this difference arises from the fact that God created us humans in His own likeness. And if they are wrong to insist that God made us in His own likeness, then they are wrong to insist that God has any claim on us.

Furthermore, if God has no claim on us, then we are free — free to be animals like our evolutionary ancestors — free to be as low-down as snakes, and to make pigs of ourselves, and to act like donkeys.

Did I say 'free'?

Hiss! Oink! Hee-haw!

Originally posted by shavixmir
If a human isn't an animal, what the hell is it???

An ego-inflation machine! A self-righteous pinhead! A sanctimonious blowhard! A self-important beast! Mr. Know-it-all! Captain Oblivious! And (far too often) a merciless murderer.

Originally posted by robbie carrobie
yeah, like you said

[b]No single, essential difference separates human beings from other animals.' So began a feature article on evolution in TIME magazine ('How Man Began', March 14, 1994). The more I thought about this sweeping statement the more I began to warm to it.

For example, like humans, apes have well formed rational faculties. Th ...[text shortened]... of ourselves, and to act like donkeys.

Did I say 'free'?

Hiss! Oink! Hee-haw![/b]

Yes, you've conclusively shown something, not sure if it's about humans and animals however ...

Implicit in your piss-take of this debate is the notion that there is a hierarchy of animals ... reptiles, mammals, humans (in ascending order).

Is there evidence to support this, other than your biblical and theological assertions?

Originally posted by TerrierJack
An ego-inflation machine! A self-righteous pinhead! A sanctimonious blowhard! A self-important beast! Mr. Know-it-all! Captain Oblivious! And (far too often) a merciless murderer.

Is it ego inflated to say that human beings are "superior" to animals or is it just an observation? For example, there are areas of superiority within humanity that others species simply do not possess such as intellect. You could even argue that animals have certain superior aspects to their existence than humans. However, there is within us all a sense that we are special and unique from the animal kingdom whether this be true or not. Of course, believing that we are superior in certain areas CAN lead to arrogance, but it does not mandate that we be so.

Originally posted by TerrierJack
An ego-inflation machine! A self-righteous pinhead! A sanctimonious blowhard! A self-important beast! Mr. Know-it-all! Captain Oblivious! And (far too often) a merciless murderer.

The more you get to know people, the better dogs look!🙂

Originally posted by ThinkOfOne
By the way, the line "I am not an animal" has appeared in a number of films. I can think of two for sure, but want to say there were more. Can anyone name some?

I guess The Elephant Man would be the obvious one. I think it also occurs in The Party Animal but not in the same emotional vein; and a similar line that is in the same emotional vein (but I think not the exact same quote) appears in A Man Called Horse.

My favorite instance of the quote that I know about is in a Seinfeld episode about an alleged nose pick, which features two allusions back to back:

"If we pick, do we not bleed?! I am not an animal!"

Originally posted by ThinkOfOne
By the way, the line "I am not an animal" has appeared in a number of films. I can think of two for sure, but want to say there were more. Can anyone name some?

There are 16 referencences to movies or other film-products where someone actually says "I am not an animal", or something alike, according to Internet Movie Database:
http://www.imdb.com/Find?select=Quotes&for=%22I%20am%20not%20an%20animal%22

The Jungle Book (1994)
"Mowgli: I am not a man! [pause] And I am not an animal."

Spartacus (1960)
"Spartacus: I am not an animal!"

The Elephant Man (1980)
"John Merrick: I am not an elephant! I am not an animal! I am a human being! I am a man!"

but

Batman Returns (1992)
"The Penguin: [shouting] My name is not Oswald! It's Penguin! I am not a human being. I am an animal! Cold-blooded."

House M.D. (2004)
"Dr. Gregory House: [to Cameron] Just trying to figure out what makes you tick. I am not warm and fuzzy and you are basically a stuffed animal made by grandma."

Originally posted by karoly aczel
The brain is an instrument for the Mind.
(you can work out the rest)

I understand your point of view. The mind is something separate from the human body. Brains are
mere vessels for the minds. But then, it's equally plausible the other way around. The mind can be
the mere product of the physical brain, much like urine is the product of your kidneys or vision is
the product of the eye. The brain can then undergo changes through evolutionary increments,
much like any other part of the physical body and thereby (dis)allow the animal to function well in
given environments.

Well, at least we agree that the human body is that of an animal, while you seem to think that the
human mind further lifts the human as a species from the rest of the animal kingdom. But then,
when a crocodile manage to escape capture, without any previous experience realising the very
purpose of a cage (Gustav), or when a cow figures out that by pushing another cow to the fence it
can detect when electricity is down and escape captivity, are their minds also separate from their
brains? If so, how are we "more" than they are, instead of just better suited to certain living
conditions? How long would any man survive without tools or clothes when dropped into the middle
of the Atlantic ocean (instilled with a great mind for abstract thought or not)?

Originally posted by daniel58
No we are more than animals, God made US in His likeness and image, not animals.

If God made us in his image and likeness, isn't God kind of weak and pathetic, all things considering?
Surely we're nothing like God?

Originally posted by whodey
Is it ego inflated to say that human beings are "superior" to animals or is it just an observation? For example, there are areas of superiority within humanity that others species simply do not possess such as intellect. You could even argue that animals have certain superior aspects to their existence than humans. However, there is within us all a sense t ...[text shortened]... we are superior in certain areas CAN lead to arrogance, but it does not mandate that we be so.

There are many other aspects to being human where other animals are vastly superior to us. The
python can crush every bone in your body with a hug.* I'd like to see you crush another person's
bones with a hug. A crocodile can swim around 30 kilometres per hour under water without
leaving a ripple on the surface. Can you do that? A leopard can run around 60 kilometres per
hour. You?

And how do we know that not all animals, every single specimen of animal, don't think of
themselves in egocentric, I am very special, manner? Have you been able to communicate in that
sense with any other form of animal?

* This is a myth I'm told. My apologies. Correction: The python can climb the tree without hands.
Can you do that?

Originally posted by robbie carrobie
yeah, like you said

[b]No single, essential difference separates human beings from other animals.' So began a feature article on evolution in TIME magazine ('How Man Began', March 14, 1994). The more I thought about this sweeping statement the more I began to warm to it.

For example, like humans, apes have well formed rational faculties. Th ...[text shortened]... of ourselves, and to act like donkeys.

Did I say 'free'?

Hiss! Oink! Hee-haw![/b]

I had the impression that you posted this article somewhere at the Science forum too, my trusty feer Rabbie;

Anyway, in my opinion the author of this article is a joker: you see, the main point of the theory of the evolution is that the Human and the Ape share a common ancestor -and not that the Ape is the ancestor of the Human or the opposite;
😵