Walter D. Roy wrote:Purges wrote:^^^ We are just animals though. Plenty of animals think differently to one another, you may be surprised at how closely humans think to one another... This is where the problem lies IMO, we put our species on a pedestal over everything else that lives on this planet. Hopefully mankind will find a way of working with the forces of nature rather than against them.
I meant to say that we are different from animals due to the fact the way our thinking effects ourselves. The consciousness itself is maybe itself a product of the thinking that we engage in. I do not wish to say this in a way where as a human species we are naturally put above other animals. I mean in no way that humans are superior to any being that exists at all. Whether it be on a higher or lower scale of consciousness. The ability to reflect on ones past actions seems to be the biggest factor in what makes us different from animals, it is a very small difference, but still it is the "father" of all differences. This difference though is such a key difference that we cannot deny it in any way possible. So in saying that we act differently from animals is just saying that we exist in a different level of consciousness, it could be higher or lower, or any form of judgement that can be perceived. In saying this I mean that we don't act like animals because it is not even a considerable possibility that animals act like humans and humans act like animals. It may be closely similar but the level of conscious experience will never be the same.
This is the "father" of all generalisations. Yes, maybe compared to a sea cucumber we do exist on a different level of consciousness how ever when we start to look at other mammals, and closer to home primates, I think you will find that we share many behavioural similarities - including the ability to reflect on past events. Maybe we are all representations of the same consciousness in its different forms? What makes our consciousness 'higher'? Does having oposable thumbs and slightly larger brains than the other creatures on this planet make us
that different? I think not.
Animals aren't able to reflect on their actions eh?
Guilty cat says otherwise.The difference is that humans try to change, mold and sculpt their environment, rather than trying to adapt to what is already there - this results in needless consumerism, greed, and also malcontent. People have become removed from nature, and instead of going to hunt and gather food, we get in our car and go to the supermarket and buy our pre-cleaned, pre-packaged battery farmed chickens, and then we go back home and plonk ourselves in front of our telvisions and don't give the outside world a second thought for the next few hours until bed time. We don't act like animals? Really? I would liken our species to a pack of locusts in many respects.
I'm not saying we are 'good' or 'bad' I just think we need to change many of our ways to remain a successful species on this planet, possibly by using this ability to reflect to our advantage.
Lose Control, Free My Soul, Break Me Open, Make Me Whole."DMT kicked my balls off" - od3