Back to Home

God & Science Forum Message

Forums: Atm · Astrophotography · Blackholes · Blackholes2 · CCD · Celestron · Domes · Education
Eyepieces · Meade · Misc. · God and Science · SETI · Software · UFO · XEphem
RSS Button

Home | Discussion Forums | God and Science | Post
Login

Be the first pioneers to continue the Astronomy Discussions at our new Astronomy meeting place...
The Space and Astronomy Agora
Re: Are We Animals?

Forum List | Follow Ups | Post Message | Back to Thread Topics | In Response To
Posted by Brad on September 23, 1999 18:25:05 UTC

: *** I would like to hear differing perspectives on the subject of what we are. It is my opinion that we are animals, and that we have developed a very complex mechanism which allows us to multiply our chances of survival. : I have found those who belive in a supreame being who also believe that we are still a form of animal, and I have found those who reject the concept of a supreame being but maintain that we are something that could not have developed from any other animal forms. Of course then there is the general we are created as we are by a supreame being, and also the evolutionary theory that explains that we came directly from the first forms of life which branched over and over again, thus making us related to all forms of life on the planet from very recent branches like the primates to the most extreame distant reletives such as single cell life. : I tend to agree with Darwins theory of evolution because it has the most physical evidence supporting it, and seems to be the most probable. :

bzrd, you could say that we start out as animals. As an infant is just that an animal. What distinguishes us from animals in later development is the use of the symbol. As Leslie White once said, "The symbol is the universe of humanity..." The use of symbols converts us from animals to humans. Language is the most important symbol humans have created, i say created because, of course, we designed it to aid our existance. By attributing sounds and words to different meanings and ideas we separate ourselves from the animal. If we remove our language we destroy the human social culture. Look at Helen Keller, for example, she was at first unable to grasp any concepts, that if you spell the word w-a-t-e-r in her hand it symbolized the good feeling wet stuff that you drink, and shower with. But it is that which separates us from animals that allowed her to realize that those hand signals stood (symbolized) what we call water. The ability to make symbols is the most powerfull one we have. Let x = 5 and it does. Let red mean stop and green mean go, and it does. Animals are incapable of creating and using symbols and thus they are separated from the human race.

Follow Ups:

Login to Post
Additional Information
Google
 
Web www.astronomy.net
DayNightLine
About Astronomy Net | Advertise on Astronomy Net | Contact & Comments | Privacy Policy
Unless otherwise specified, web site content Copyright 1994-2024 John Huggins All Rights Reserved
Forum posts are Copyright their authors as specified in the heading above the post.
"dbHTML," "AstroGuide," "ASTRONOMY.NET" & "VA.NET"
are trademarks of John Huggins