We're mammals. Nothing more, nothing less. You don't want to have a relationship, that's your choice, but don't deny yourself your basic biological impulses. You're going to be a grumpy old man.

I agree we are mammals. Nothing more, nothing less.

We do, however, have a more complex thinking process than, say, a cat. That makes us superior. Intellect is our power.

I'm never grumpy - I merely loathe the responsibility involved in dealing with others. And to be intimately involved with someone is to bring in responsibility. I don't want that. And I'm happy with it that way it is.

I'm one of those people who does get disgusted with humans in general, however. If we do have this intelligence, why should we revert to these horrible animalistic qualities we evolved out of? We are capable. imo

That's a fallacy if I ever heard one. People like to believe that we've transcended our basal instincts. It's simply something that makes us feel better. We've done nothing of the sort. Our intelligence is merely a tool we use to carry out our instinctive functions.

Okay.

I'll disagree one last time, though. Our intelligence isn't merely used to carry out instinctive functions, it allows us to create as well. (Art, music, the like.) Those aren't instincts. Learning to play an instrument is not instinctual.

Yea, but that's not the purpose behind our intelligence. That's a consequence. We didn't evolve intelligence for art, music, or mathematics. We evolved it because it helped us survive. The fact that we can do these other things is swell, but that's all it is. If you think it's going to allow us to overcome our savage nature before we kill ourselves, however, I think you're gravely mistaken.

When you factor in that half the world has an IQ below 90 (I just made this up, but it's probably close), all that becomes a lot worse.

I see no possible way for humankind to evade self-annihilation, don't get me wrong.

You helped to prove my point though, that is - humans are superior to animals in the creative realm. :)

Your point is more like an observation, not an argument. I don't think he was disputing the fact that humans are capable of creativity. Other animals are as well.

Superior in what way? Birds sing songs we can not hope to mimic. It took us hundreds of thousands of years to spin something as beautiful and complex as a spider web. Bees produce honey. Alcohol is created by yeast. Plants and bacteria produce medicine. Milk is (generally) extracted from other animals. All we've learned to do is utilize what nature produces for us. And it took us hundreds of thousands of years to get there. We are the most intelligent species on the planet. Undoubtedly. I'm not even disputing the fact that we're the most creative. All I'm saying is that we have not subverted our basal animal nature.

Yeah. Ladies.

What?

I agree.


You answered this.


Now all I'm saying, is that due to this creativity and intelligence, we are separate from animals. We are animals physically, but mentally we are much more than that.

I don't get your point in saying that animals who are physically built to create set things are superior. Given your spider web example, I think it's marvelous how humans have the ability to utilize and to mimic - making us the masters of our world. That's why I view humans as gods. Does not the traditional god rule and create? One would be a fool to think I meant anything more.

I have never seen a cat play an adapted violin and understand music theory.

I dunno... ladies.

Superiority is not synonymous with intelligence or creativity.

We are mentally animals as well. We just have a greater mental capacity than the others. A giraffe is the tallest animal in the world. That does not mean that it is mentally an animal, but height-wise "much more than that." And as an aside, there is a very minute difference between our brain and that of our close primate cousins.

But we are not masters of our world. We can not control, for instance, the weather. You can have an influence, but not control the population of insects in your house. We can't make it to the depths of sea, much less control that ecosystem. Hell, we're not even in control of our bodies. You depend on a symbiotic relationship with other organisms to exist. You depend on chemical transmitters that you have no conscious control of to control the autonomous functions of your body. Your genetic code is easily changed by viruses. Your body's functions are easily influenced by other pathogens. We are in control of some things. 99% of the rest of the world we are not.

I have never seen a human jump three times its own height. We are more intelligent. Superior? I don't think so.

I concede.

We're almost there guys! OMG WE GONNA DIEEEE