And what are we pretending to be?
“Humans”.
And what are Humans?
“Not animals, that’s for sure!”
This is called speciesism, the believe that your live is worth more/you are better simply because of your species.
Speciesism is a great word and it uses all of the tools of our language in a way that makes sense.
But someone decided at some point we should call this “Anthropocentrism” instead
I love people who are like “we need to return to nature!”
Like, I get the sentiment and we should definitely try to coexist with the rest of the animals since were smart enough to, but i think its important to remember that we are nature. We cannot separate ourselves from it. Even skyscrapers are natural. Just ask a termite.
Yup. Pollution is natural. It’s not about what’s natural, but what keeps our environment in a state where we can thrive.
You’re so damn right! We can’t pull us apart of nature and neither everything we do!
Humans could all be grey blobs and people would still argue they are greyest and blobiest. They love to feel special.
Hey, I recognize a The Fairly OddParents reference when I see one. That’s good taste, fella 👌
We don’t pretend we are not animals. We pretend we are the ONLY animals, and all others are merely objects.
The Apex Animal, the Uber-animal, the Sigma Animal 🗿
Uhhh I would strongly disagree with that being a mainstream belief
Do you consume non-human animals? Then you are probably psychologically dependent on ignoring all the ways they are the same as we are. You probably believe there are lots of things that distinguish us, as long as you never think too closely about it, that make it morally permissible or even morally encouraged to exploit their bodies and pretend that they don’t have a mind fundamentally like yours.
Being an animal means having animus. But we act as though we are the only creature having it; the only with interests, with thoughts and feelings, with desires and goals, that uses reason, that struggles with everything within us to live.
Do you actually have anything to say beyond, “I disagree”, or are you (like most carnists) just psychologically required to obstruct your own inconvenient thoughts whenever they arise?
That’s why furries were invented
I am? [farts]
Would an animal fart like that?
Speak for yourself. I’m a filthy mo fo
You might be interested in looking into Cynic philosophy and into the sparse but colorful stories surrounding Diogenes of Sinope
I know my fella Dionegenes pretty well. He was based as fuck 🔥🔥
You’re on the internet, anyone here might not be human
The next stage of evolution:
Animal -> Human -> Porn Bot -> ???
deleted by creator
If this definition sits well with you, you’re probably theist.
Emm… Could you elaborate, please? 😅
If something a person created is unnatural then it must be produced by something other than nature. How are we not a part of the natural world?
But we are nature, part of it, therefore everything we do is natural too, I totally convince of it. My problem is that some of us act like we were something apart from nature, above even.
That’s my point. The way we use the words natural and unnatural are not congruent with their definition.
We are above animals though, humans were able to conquer the earth, light it up, send its people beyond it, create complex language and more whilst animals can’t really do any of that
animals literally did that. we are those animals.
But only one specific species of animals did that. Most animals are incapable of doing that, which is why we are superior
Hey bud? Octupi are developed enough to maintain neighborhood communities, and they managed to avoid inventing money, taxes, and HoAs. They’re also not actively destroying the planet.
Let’s not pretend like anything we are doing has an inherent good to it. Animal societies looking different to ours doesn’t make them inferior to ours. What humanity has wrought is nothing to brag about.
Can you do any of that?
That’s a stupid question. As a collective, humanity is able to accomplish all these things.
I could with enough motivation yeah
So no, you can’t. Guess you aren’t human, just an animal huh?
How can I not though? Every human is capable of doing these things. What makes us better than animals is that we can cooperate on much grander things that extend beyond death
The problem is saying that what we’re capable of makes us “better” and “superior.” Says who? That “superiority” will probably also be what kills us off.
In my opinion, our mental capability does make us better as we are able to adapt and innovate much faster than regular animals would, which can get us out of awful situations.
Yes, we are very adaptable, which has allowed us to spread over pretty much the whole world and shape it to our needs. However, we also are destroying the ecosystem that keeps us alive, which is getting us into an awful situation entirely of our own making.
If you’re belief is that any human is capable of these things but not yet educated, how do you humans are the only ones that can be taught?
Because humans have studied the brains of other creatures and from what we know, it is unlikely that any other species can do so.
Care to cite these studies claiming human brains are intrinsically superior? The primary difference among mammals is the size and fold density. Koalas are famously smooth-brained, but other animals have greater memory and reasoning capability with larger, deeper folds. What they lack is language. Humans developed superior vocal cords, allowing great variation in speech patterns that jump started written language and, by effect, written history. Have you not seen the videos and reports of the incredible communication and logical capabilities of other animals such as dogs learning 300 commands and using 40+ speech buttons? Have you not heard the tales of octopus escape artists defeating locks?
Survival is what your parents and local community can teach you. But innovation and invention? You are the product of thousands of years of written language passing on more information than any single person could remember and more then any single community could develop on its own. The biggest brain in the world would sound like an idiot without language. We are not above animals, we just talk like we are.
I don’t believe you are capable of any of the examples you mentioned.
Why?
Because you haven’t demonstrated any of it.
You’re not wrong but I think you’re missing the point. The point is that a lot of people believe that everything that makes Earth has an intrinsic value in and of itself. That doesn’t mean that us as humans as part of the earth can’t capture some of that value and put it to our own efforts. It does mean that we should have respect for the living and non-living things that make up our planet and can’t take everything. Just because Dolphin’s didn’t invent the light bulb doesn’t mean they don’t have their own value to themselves. It just means that we don’t understand it.
Oh yeah I didn’t mean it as in because we are superior we should step over all of the living beings on the earth. They might not have the same mental capability as us but I do agree that they can feel and do serve a purpose on the earth alongsides us.
We still have this notion and hubris that we’re above animals, and animals are below us who are alright being stepped on and abused. I noticed that in a lot of cultures, their insults and profanities is being compared to an animal (in Europe, the profanities seem to be generally sexual).
Also, for the religious, admitting we’re animals is definitely an insult and denial of biblical teachings that god created humans. When Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution first became a mainstream sensation, some cartoonists drew him as a monkey. I debated with a religious before who believes in conspiracy theories. After pointing out about evolution, I was called a monkey. I wasn’t even insulted though because, yes, that is basically what I’m trying to say. But technically I’m not a monkey, I’m an ape. Humans are apes. The monkeys are our cousins. Religious folks don’t like to admit we’re animals because it contradicts their beliefs.
Religious folks don’t like to admit we’re animals because it contradicts their beliefs.
Their religion is based on the idea that we’re special somehow. It allows their followers to feel better than the ‘lesser’ animals, and the ‘lesser’ races/cultures. They teach that we’re the chosen ones with our tools, and language, and emotion, and thoughts.
The fact that we’re all equal, and that other animals have all of those qualities is a threat to their power.
To be fair, if I took my cats values and morals there would be a bloodbath.
You and me baby ain’t nothing but mammals so let’s do it like they do on the discovery channel
Pretending to be an animal doesn’t solve much either but it’s fun from time to time.
If we pretend to be other animal, sure isn’t helpful. Is not about pretending to be this or that, but to stop the antropocentris and start to see ourselves as part of something, not something apart of everything else.
I knew someone from this instance was going to post. I knew it!
