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Originally Posted by Maximo  I'm quite sure that my dogs are capable of complex thoughts and emotion. Wish I had a photo of Teddy when I cut his walk short one night. There was no mistake that he was disgusted and rolled his eyes at me.  Seriously, I do not think Max and Teddy's behavior and actions are all primal or conditioned.
Humans can build skyscrapers and make laws, but does that really make mankind smarter and superior? As Linda and Ann pointed out, humans are capable of plenty of stupidity and cruelty. Remorse for wrongdoing? Plenty of people who have no remorse for their actions, and they qualify as completely 'normal,' not mentally ill or brain damaged. Knowing right from wrong? First, these are relative terms beyond our laws. Second, plenty of people who don't know.
While humans have accomplished great feats, is Bill Gates superior to a man who happily lives a simple life in a cabin in the woods?
As I wrote earlier, I just don't have a need to rank anyone or anything in life, assigning importance. If the mental stumbling block is the idea of *equality*, think of it as harmony. That is my ideal. |
Bill Gates may have had a |superior" contribution to the advancement of the internet, that indeed allows us here and now to talk with each other over thousands of miles and at a pretty cheap price. I don't know that contribution of that one man in the woods, maybe he is contributing to world peace through the power of his prayer and his compassion to all fellow beings.
Human beings I believe naturally rank things all the time in importance every day all day long. Is it more important I pay my tax bill, or run to the hospital to be there for a sick family member?
If my car is on empty is it more important that I fill it up, or try to run on empty to get to where I need to go?