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What makes us human?

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  • #16
    Philosophy and art is how I voted. Let them chimps try to direct a movie! wait, that might be a cool film to see....
    If you don't like reality, change it! me
    "Oh no! I am bested!" Drake
    "it is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong" Voltaire
    "Patriotism is a pernecious, psychopathic form of idiocy" George Bernard Shaw

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    • #17
      Our inability to react instinctively to the submission response.

      Our ability to question our own existence.

      Our ability to project and plan for the future.

      Our mismanagement of the environment.

      Empathetic projection.
      Vive la liberte. Noor Inayat Khan, Dachau.

      ...patriotism is not enough. I must have no hatred or bitterness towards anyone. Edith Cavell, 1915

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      • #18
        Originally posted by molly bloom
        Our mismanagement of the environment.
        That's only because there are more of us than any other similar sized animals.

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        • #19
          Its funny how you phrased the banana option because its true.

          In my genetics class I learned that we share over 50% genetic similarity from a bananana. Apparrentlya genetic information to create a banana isnt too far from creating a complex being like us.

          So I was forced to vote for the banana... even though I was serious about it. The option had a very very good arguement.
          :-p

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          • #20
            who the hell is voting for 'soul'? the other options encompass the notion anyway

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            • #21
              Originally posted by MRT144
              One foot, actually instinct to adapt wouldnt really what i would consider creative.

              its the fact that we use our creativity to do things that arent related to our survival which is what i find astounding
              ever seen a chimp use a narrow stick to lure ants into the stick and lick it off?

              Or how about a bird that fishes using a piece of bread?
              :-p

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              • #22
                thats not art creative. creating visual or musical things for the sake of itself is something animals dont do.
                "I hope I get to punch you in the face one day" - MRT144, Imran Siddiqui
                'I'm fairly certain that a ban on me punching you in the face is not a "right" worth respecting." - loinburger

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                • #23
                  Originally posted by Big Crunch
                  There are many things that make us different compared to other animals, but that is by defintion true of all species.

                  The complexity of our brain is what makes us the dominant species. Everything else flows from that (language, logic etc...). Other animals have these abilities, just not as refined as ours.
                  Intelligence:
                  Thats not true. My bio professor told me once that dolphins have a brain thats FAR more complex than ours. If you think about it, it makes sense that a dolphin would be alot smarter than some retarded cave man.

                  Language:
                  There are so many organism that are far better at communicating than us. Just look at me and my ex-girlfriend.... Its really not a good example of good communication in its prime.


                  Only reason why I see humans being dominant is because of thier thumbs and an ability to preserve their communication, which gives them an unequal ability compared to other organism.
                  :-p

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                  • #24
                    Originally posted by MRT144
                    thats not art creative. creating visual or musical things for the sake of itself is something animals dont do.
                    ok somethign i missed from ur statement before is somethign creative "that has nothign to do with our survival".

                    You're right though. I cant think of one. Now its bothering me. Can animals create something creative for sake of itself?
                    :-p

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                    • #25
                      Originally posted by MRT144
                      thats not art creative. creating visual or musical things for the sake of itself is something animals dont do.

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                      • #26
                        We deliberately create or do things harmful or counterproductive to ourselves.

                        (fast food, birth control, sarcasm, and nuclear weapons spring to mind)

                        Lemmings jump off cliffs, but we've taken it to the next level
                        "I'm a guy - I take everything seriously except other people's emotions"

                        "Never play cards with any man named 'Doc'. Never eat at any place called 'Mom's'. And never, ever...sleep with anyone whose troubles are worse than your own." - Nelson Algren
                        "A single death is a tragedy, a million deaths is a statistic." - Joseph Stalin (attr.)

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                        • #27
                          Originally posted by MRT144
                          thats not art creative. creating visual or musical things for the sake of itself is something animals dont do.
                          Many birds make ornamental nests. Some sing and dance, too.

                          I can't think of any off the top of my head, but I'm sure there are other animals that are artistic aswell.
                          Rethink Refuse Reduce Reuse

                          Do It Ourselves

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                          • #28
                            [SIZE=1] Originally posted by Six Thousand
                            Lemmings jump off cliffs
                            Actually, they're thrown off by movie producers.
                            Rethink Refuse Reduce Reuse

                            Do It Ourselves

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                            • #29
                              The fact we can do/have all of the above while still being a single animal species *is* rather impressive...
                              DULCE BELLUM INEXPERTIS

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                              • #30
                                One of the best summaries I've ever heard is along the lines of "the ability to tell a story":

                                you come across a set of animal tracks in front of you, and you realize that at some point in the past an animal walked by, and at some point in the future at the other end of the tracks you will find the animal, or at least where the animal last was (perhaps before being eaten by another predator). From one piece of physical evidence, we are able to in effect predict the future, and share that news with others. It is not the same as following a scent, which is basically a string of physical evidence, it is an abstraction based on past experience. I dont think this makes us any more suited than any other creature to try and rule the earth however

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