> We would like to believe that they don't
> think and that we are better than them because they don't because
> that places us above they and allows us the right to decide which
> ones live or die. What makes us different is that we think that we
> are better than then and in doing so have brought many of the other
> animal species of the world, either to or over the brink of
> extinction. And we are dragging ourselves over that edge too.
I don't see much evidence that animals are capable of, say, building
hydroelectric dams or composing symphonies. That we are capable of
overpowering the rest of the animal kingdom despite the fact that,
physically speaking, we are ill-equipped to do so, suggests to me that
the human "animal" is by far the most intelligent on the planet.
Does this give us the right to do to with other species as we will? The
answer to that question depends on what standards you're using to decide
things like "rights".
As for pushing ourselves to the brink of exinction, this may be something
to be concerned about. However, I think that such possibilites as
wide-scale famine and disease in the third world present a far greater
danger than extinction at this point -- unless the threat of global
nuclear war becomes a concern again.
--Jay
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jwt@dana.ucc.nau.edu
http://dana.ucc.nau.edu/~jwt
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