Quote Carl Sagan: " It is of interest to note that while some dolphins are reported to have learned English -- up to fifty words used in correct context -- no human being has been reported to have learned dolphinese."
Humans are not so above animals as we'd like to think. We know this in our hearts, so we build up concepts such as the 'soul', dreams, emotions, higher consciousness -- and then deny that animals could possibly posses anything like them.
When scientific study blows that false reasoning out of the water, what will you use as an excuse to treat animals as property?
I'd say that humanity has essentially removed itself from nature pretty effectively. Modern medicine protects us incredibly well (perhaps too well) from many of the normal effects of nature, and coupled with societal conditions this means that the idea of Darwin's 'survival of the fittest' no longer means very much to us in the natural sense.
From the point of view of our impact on the natural world tho, the problem is not so much that humans think they're no longer a part of nature, but that over the centuries, perhaps even millennia, we've built complex belief systems espousing the idea that we're not only *above* nature, but that all of the natural world is there pretty much entirely for our benefit. Many of our cultures have believed this for a long time, but with our current technology level, and ever-expanding overpopulation, our capacity to exploit, degrade and destory tha natural world increases almost exponentially with every generation. And until we learn to see ourselves as the artefact of evolution that we are, rather than the pinnacle of evolution that most seem to *believe* we are, this problem unlikely to ever be remedied.
Oh, and pandas don't quite have opposable thumbs - they have a curiously developed sesamoid bone (hope I spelled that right) in their wrist which helps them to grasp their food. It's more like a permanently-opposed thumb-nub than an opposable thumb ^_^
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"The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism by those who have not got it." -- George Bernard Shaw
Excellent picture. I like how you used the blue and orange to frame the text; that and the way the orange spheres go from small to large toward the text really pushes it forward and emphasizes it.
You make a good point too. Whether you're a creationist or an evolutionist, animals were here before us. They may not possess the particular gifts that humans have, but they're spectacular creatures on their own, and deserve respect. (Also, I personally believe that they do dream, and have souls as well ) I am happy to call an animal my friend.
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"I hate whoever wants to remove a note from the human scale"
~Orson Welles
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Me @ y!Gallery
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"Psychedelics are probably responsible for every aspect of human evolution apart from the decline in bodyhair." -Terence McKenna
From the point of view of our impact on the natural world tho, the problem is not so much that humans think they're no longer a part of nature, but that over the centuries, perhaps even millennia, we've built complex belief systems espousing the idea that we're not only *above* nature, but that all of the natural world is there pretty much entirely for our benefit. Many of our cultures have believed this for a long time, but with our current technology level, and ever-expanding overpopulation, our capacity to exploit, degrade and destory tha natural world increases almost exponentially with every generation. And until we learn to see ourselves as the artefact of evolution that we are, rather than the pinnacle of evolution that most seem to *believe* we are, this problem unlikely to ever be remedied.
Oh, and pandas don't quite have opposable thumbs - they have a curiously developed sesamoid bone (hope I spelled that right) in their wrist which helps them to grasp their food. It's more like a permanently-opposed thumb-nub than an opposable thumb ^_^
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"The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism by those who have not got it." -- George Bernard Shaw
You make a good point too. Whether you're a creationist or an evolutionist, animals were here before us. They may not possess the particular gifts that humans have, but they're spectacular creatures on their own, and deserve respect. (Also, I personally believe that they do dream, and have souls as well
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"Of course, the entire effort is to put oneself outside the ordinary range of what are called statistics." - Stephen Spender
Fuck you, I'm a dragon!
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Preach the Gospel at all times. Use words if necessary. - St. Francis of Assisi
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DEAD ACCOUNT! See my new submissions at ~Pica-Hudsonia...Thanks!
Why would a dolphin need a water-filled bubble helmet?
Hmm... suppose it would help it to view things "normally"...
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