Dolphin for breakfast anyone ?

Many people think when we die, we end up floating on a fluffy white cloud high in the sky looking down at all the gormless capers of the living. In China Crisis's words, Wishful Thinking.

The difference between man and animal is we have consciousness (freewill) animals don't and they are governed by instinct.
I believe that intelligence in animals should be taken into account. The higher the intelligence, the more they are like us. So we shouldn't kill highly intelligent creatures.

 

As ive said in my other posts i agree intelligence should be taken into account

Again though, a "we have freewill other animals dont" (again-man IS animal) viewpoint i think is just a symptom of our delusions of grandeur, i have to say. How exactly do you know the other animals are "governed by instinct" completely, and if youre right, how do you know this makes them any lower than us, and also how do you know were not just following a load of instincts?

Ok so I agree, many other mammals follow their instincts a lot more closely and no other creatures are writing plays or composing music. I wont deny our superior intelligence in that sense. But how excactly can one tell what an orang utan thinks? We know for sure communication systems between other primates are ever so complex. How do you know the other animals arent all living out their lives and progressing as best they can, and they do feel things beyond instinct, despite their lower intelligence? How do you know that its our viewpoint that makes it seem otherwise? To a creature of higher intelligence, if their was one, would we look like were just consuming and making babies and not feeling all that much beyond?

What im trying to say is you cannot possibly assert in full confidence "were the only ones with freewill not completely governed by instinct" because you cant read the minds of these animals, especially ones like dolphins, who play, do things just for fun, and spend so much time on relationships

**And more importantly than any of that, if youre right and we ARE special becuase of our free will, then shouldnt we use this wisely and with honour and respect? Shouldnt we protect life rather than destroy it, with our power to choose? This would show we were TRULY evolved, id say

I know you said we shouldnt kill highly intelligent creatures, and i fully agree obviously, but the lines are blurred, you have to admit. How far does intelligence extend, and is this all about intelligence anyway? Are pigs not intelligent? Would you torture a dog?

And sweeping statements like "were the only ones who have freewill" are rarely factual and risk creating misunderstanding

 

A belief come from out of body experiences perhaps?

Im not big on heaven and clouds and just going away to have a float about and not do much after our pathetic few Earth years. It doesnt seem logical

 

youre right!

 

God. Maybe we need a Religion forum?

 

Thatd actually be cool. I enjoy spewing out lots of words sometimes, and reading new ideas, and you can do that with religion
Still, its just begging for a load of brainwashers to join us
Were going off topic though

 

:lol:

Dolphins are mammals, John...they are warm blooded, they suckle their young, they have highly advanced central nervous systems, they are of the same biological class as humans, mice and pigs...

 

heh, i missed that one

 

Yes - we don't have freewill either. As for consciousness, humans are not the only mammals to have second-order awareness, some of the great apes can recognise themselves in a mirror and entertain advanced concepts about themselves and others exactly like we can. We don't know the full extent to which other mammals can be self-conscious in this way but they are certainly far closer to us than we ever realised, that's why it pays to err on the side of caution when dealing with the other mammals.

 

I didn't know dolphins had breasts. Dolphin milk? Dolphins have tailfins. Not mouse tails. I always thought they were cold blooded. Learn something new everyday. What with GM foods. Now we have binky the fish and mousetailed dolphins.
Mind blowing :lol:

 

This is for those of you who have never seen a dolphin foetus...
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBZOeCCxt9E

Like i hadnt, until i just watched that

Randomly interesting

 

he he ... that was so sweet. i'd seen that program about animals in the womb before, but had missed the bit on the dolphins.

 

That video was the cutest.

I think one day dolphins will teach man a lesson.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=vlc2-2A1RsI

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cetacean_intelligence