Quote:
Originally Posted by Devils'Advocate
On what grounds do you rank "higher" and "lower". "Ability to reason" seems like an rather arbitrary and self-serving criteria. Personally I think each creature has its special abilities and unique characteristics that make them have their own intrinsic value.
It on that basis alone that the Dali Lama does not kill mosquitos.
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Odd that I am writing this as "I think" and "in my opinion" while many of the posts in this thread are stating things as absolute undeniable fact. Maybe I need to be more forceful.... *shrug*
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Well...I wasn't speaking of higher or lower in terms of mental ability or status. I was speaking in terms of a food chain. Would you agree that a mouse is lower on the food chain than a cat? It's my belief that cows are lower on the food chain than humans. In almost every elementary science classroom, the food chain is taught and guess who is on top? Humans. Not because we think we're better because we have the ability to reason..but because that's how it is in nature. It's a food chain. Not a social ranking. No intrinsic value. This is based on food. And food only.