Look, this is getting silly. There is no proof that a human can reason
either- and, comparing what one animal can do with another is no proof of
reasoning. Humans are almost identical with chimps and gorillas; and a
few million years ago they were members of the same species. Some even
say that it would be possible for a chimp and a human to interbreed.
There is really nothing that humans do that we can't find rudiments of in
another species..and we are NOT special!
***************************************
* Miguel A Ordorica *
* Washington State University *
* Department of Sociology *
* Office Wilson 237 *
* (509) 335-4595 (Office) *
* (509) 332-4442 (Home) *
***************************************
On Wed, 16 Sep 1998 [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
> Hi!
>
> Regarding animals ability to reason:
>
> Reasoning - Food for thought - Meanings are as follows:
>
> Logical - Is swimming right into a fishing net logical thought? Dolphins
> have great personalities but they can not avoid swimming into nets - Perfect
> example of instinct and inability to reason! They always swim there
> instinctively and will continue to swim there with or without net presence.
>
> Rational - Is obeying a human who impedes on your freedom rational thought?
> Birds are beautiful creatures - I wish I could fly with my own wings -for now
> I fly on the wings of love. However, a bird would allow a human to cage it
> and keep it caged without fleeing to freedom and still honor that person? Is
> that rational thought? Just behaving instinctively to its surrounding - no
> reasoning there. The bird does not ask itself rationally WHY is the person
> impeding on my freedom - why am I not in the forest among my other bird
> friends and family - that would be rational thought!
>
> Sensible - is eating dog food sensible thought? Dogs make great pets - great
> personalities - the wolfs among us - however, if you were sensible would you
> eat dog food? Or is the dog eating out of behaviorial instinct to survive -
> not sensible thinking there - the dog does not hold out for better food which
> would be the sensible thing to do!
>
> AWARE - is swimming upstream when you know Grizzly bears will eat you
> awareness? Salmon are amazing fish - really - how they instinctively swim
> upstream to breed - for continuance of their species - survival instincts kick
> in. However, if they were AWARE in thought that the grizzly bear was always
> there - would they continue that path or find a new path that would increase
> their odds of survival? They can not reason with awareness!
>
> Knowing - Is scratching furniture and ripping your owners home knowing
> thought?
> A cat can be such a loving curious kind of pet - I love cats - I especially
> love the big cats! However, a house cat who is not declawed and not given
> proper toys to play with will scatch the daylights our of chair legs - now is
> that knowing - if they knew what they were doing - destroying their owners
> furniture - they would KNOW that they were behaving improperly but they can
> not reason - they are just sharpening their claws - instinctive behavior.
>
> Are you following this? These are just a few examples
> HOWEVER - Because we can reason/knowingling with our brains as humans does
> that make other animals inferior? No,
>
> But this ability to reason with our brains should make us more
> responsible/rational to the animals who can not - and only behave - We should
> respect that they deserve to live, freely without our impediment of that and
> you take away their need to reason -which they don't have anyway -
> then they become as free-spirited as we are. They
> are feeling, loving, creatures who have rights - but we are (well, we should
> be) rational
> humans who care about those rights and treat them as co-inhabitants and we
> care about
> our home and theirs rationally! But, please do not say that they
> reason/think/rationalize/know the way humans do because they do not!
> They can not!
>
> Peace!
> Angela
>
>
