Why is human life more important than animal life?

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Eggman
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13 May 2010, 9:19 pm

iamnotaparakeet wrote:
Just because humans have a concept of something does not entail that the concept is divorced from reality, unless you're a nihilist.
and saying you are the most important doesnt make you so, besides it seems important is being used subjectivly. objectivly id say humans arn't important


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LaPelirroja
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05 Nov 2012, 1:36 am

Human life is more important than animal life to humans because we ARE humans. We're affected the most by what happens to OUR kind. Likewise, to a horse, another horse's life is more important than a human life. Most humans have a very limited perspective, and have trouble imagining things beyond their own worldview. They believe in what the others around them believe, instead of asking themselves "Why are we believing in what we believe?"

I suppose I'm inadvertently parroting what AceOfSpades wrote a bit. Heh. *Shuffles off*



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05 Nov 2012, 1:51 am

We're the apex predators, and THAT makes us more important than animals.


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LeeAnderson
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05 Nov 2012, 1:54 am

In my opinion we're not. If we didn't have the technology we have, certain predators that are "below" us on the food chain would decimate us.



Ann2011
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05 Nov 2012, 10:37 am

PunkyKat wrote:
Why are humans oh so important? When I asked that I usualy got a religious answer about humans were created in God's image and they have "dominion" over the animals.


I really don't think we can know the image of God. God must be far more than human or animal. To create an image to capture this, I think is impossible. It is being narcissistic to think that God looks like us. But maybe I'm being too literal.

I think humans and animals are equally important; our treatment of them is a demonstration of survival of the fittest in action. I hope that our compassionate nature will lead us to dominate them in a more caring way.



Vexcalibur
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05 Nov 2012, 3:10 pm

We are humans, so yes.

If the animals were in our position, they would kill us too.


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MONKEY
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05 Nov 2012, 3:33 pm

I suppose it's natural to favour your own species, I don't think giraffes really give much thought to how the hornbills next door are feeling.
And it's also human nature to be horridly arrogant and on our high horses. I hate this way of thinking and I try my best to avoid it, and like to see the animal kingdom as being horizontal not vertical. We all share this earth and we have our niche and are just as important as each other, even when we eat each other.


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Vexcalibur
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05 Nov 2012, 3:38 pm

Yeah well, flies will still always be these brainless beings that just annoy you. I don't think anyone believes in a horizontal jerarchy of the living. And I mean anyone. Even vegetarians are probably not really thrilled about the Hantavirus even though it is just a living being wanting to survive... And of course, even the nicest of us eats vegetables, they are living creatures too.


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MONKEY
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05 Nov 2012, 3:50 pm

Vexcalibur wrote:
Yeah well, flies will still always be these brainless beings that just annoy you. I don't think anyone believes in a horizontal jerarchy of the living. And I mean anyone. Even vegetarians are probably not really thrilled about the Hantavirus even though it is just a living being wanting to survive... And of course, even the nicest of us eats vegetables, they are living creatures too.


I said I'd like to think that, like to. I can't practice what I preach allllll the time (I do squash bugs when they scare me or get in the way, but then I think "poor thing" afterwards.) It's just nicer to think of life as being horizontal to avoid being arrogant about humans.


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Ann2011
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05 Nov 2012, 4:30 pm

I'm not going to stop eating meat; I'm a carnivore. However, I hate the way animals bred for slaughter are treated in slaughterhouses.

It was mentioned earlier that there is a scientist trying to develop meat that grows, I think, from cells, so there never is any brain or consciousness involved. This seems like a good idea especially considering the growing population. It may one day be viable to do away with the current system of animal husbandry . . .
Link: Meat from scratch

This would reduce the population of livestock, of course. Cows and sheep may only show up in hobby farms.



ruveyn
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05 Nov 2012, 4:59 pm

There is no such thing as inherent worth. Worth is what a human being decides it is. Hence human lives are worth more to human beings (generally, but not always).

Value is subjective.

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05 Nov 2012, 7:06 pm

It depends.Hypothetical question.
Casey Anthony or a Sea Turtle?
Which one has more right to be here?
Human life is more important because we think it is.I'm sure if you could ask an alligator it would think it's life was more important.
The sea turtle gets my vote over a woman who would kill her child and throw her out like garbage.



06 Nov 2012, 6:39 am

PunkyKat wrote:
A concept I will never understand. I remember watching animals on TV be killed because they eventualy lost it and attacked their abusive owners and the police would kill it and I would ask why they had to do that and I was told "a human life is more important than an animals". When I tell how I think animal testing and vivesection is wrong in any form I am told it is okay because it is helping people and that human life is more important. Why? Humans are the most selfish, greedy and destructive creatures. I love my bearded dragon more than anything and would defend her to the death if I had too. I would save her before I was to save a person, even a family member. Why are humans oh so important? When I asked that I usualy got a religious answer about humans were created in God's image and they have "dominion" over the animals. I never bought that and it just adds another reason to the list of why I dislike most Christians.

My mum used to say my autism is the reason I felt this way.



The answer to your question is the simple fact that humans, like all sentient organisms, are selfish and self-interested and so they put their own kind before other species. It's really how people are wired.

As for Christianity, it is an anthropomorphic religion that projects human qualities onto things that are clearly non-human. Like the Universe for example. At teh same time, anthropomorphic projection is a Western religious tradition that predates Christianity and is actually very infantile.



06 Nov 2012, 6:41 am

Fnord wrote:
We're the apex predators, and THAT makes us more important than animals.



BTW Fnord(and iamnotaparakeet) how do you feel about the fact that certain people are trying to create something that will change this? You might think that this is impossible, but if so you are WRONG.




Misslizard wrote:
It depends.Hypothetical question.
Casey Anthony or a Sea Turtle?



Sea Turtle. Because of what she did, Casey Anthony has about as much worth as a slab of fresh meat.



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18 Sep 2016, 2:40 pm

xxx --- does this work???


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18 Sep 2016, 4:48 pm

Yeah, I have trouble wrapping my head around this. I think other animals have just as much right to life as humans do, but nobody else sees it that way. They couldn't help what they were born as, and they shouldn't be "punished" by having their lives be seen as worth less than that of a human's. And people even value the lives of some animals over that of other animals. Most people would be horrified at the thought of killing a dog but have no qualms about killing an ant. It's completely illogical, but logic isn't really NTs' thing, so it's not surprising.