I agree with Tom: I don't think we can generalize. Some religions do profess the superiority of humans over the animals, end of story. However, many religions now agree that any such superiority carries with it a divinely directed duty to act within creation as care-taking stewards rather than outside of creation as exploiting overlords.
And some evolutionary scientists might ask how you define "most advanced" -- in terms of species' specialization, Malcom's bovine might be considered more advanced than humans, e.g, hooved instead to toed feet are better for running, a complex digestive system is better for processing a wide variety of plant materials, a better sense of smell and hearing, more efficiently spaced estrus cycles, etc. Warren W. Aney Senior Wildlife Ecologist Tigard, OR -----Original Message----- From: Ecological Society of America: grants, jobs, news [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of malcolm McCallum Sent: Friday, 18 September, 2009 08:55 To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [ECOLOG-L] Intelligence Who is the greatest of them all? Do Hindu's believe this? I thought the bovine was the top of the caste system? I am reminded of an east asian religion (which one I do not remember) that believed humans were lice on God's head..... Not sure where that fits in. On Fri, Sep 18, 2009 at 7:23 AM, Tom Cuba <[email protected]> wrote: > Please consider the number of humans on the planet, their wide variety of > both stereotypical and highly personal beleifs and ask if a generalization > such as this is even properly posed. > > Tom Cuba > >> > Ecolog: >> >> Would you please assess the following > statement for its veracity and >> completeness? Is it misleading in > any way, especially with respect to >> evolutionary biology? >> >> "Humans consider themselves to be above 'the > animals,' believing that they >> are superior, either chosen by > 'God' or are products of an evolutionary >> process in which they > are the most highly developed example of that >> process, the most > highly 'advanced' species." >> >> >> >> WT >> > -- Malcolm L. McCallum Associate Professor of Biology Managing Editor, Herpetological Conservation and Biology Texas A&M University-Texarkana Fall Teaching Schedule: Vertebrate Biology - TR 10-11:40; General Ecology - MW 1-2:40pm; Forensic Science - W 6-9:40pm Office Hourse- TBA 1880's: "There's lots of good fish in the sea" W.S. Gilbert 1990's: Many fish stocks depleted due to overfishing, habitat loss, and pollution. 2000: Marine reserves, ecosystem restoration, and pollution reduction MAY help restore populations. 2022: Soylent Green is People! Confidentiality Notice: This e-mail message, including any attachments, is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply e-mail and destroy all copies of the original message.
