Re: OT: Spiked Article/Atheists and EcoChristians

On Jan 1, 9:47�am, Andrew Barss <ba...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Jane <JaneH...@xxxxxxx> wrote:

:> Does this mean that mankind itself gives the meaning and purpose? ??If
:> you do not attribute the meaning and purpose to an outside
:> "intelligence" as you say, then it must be from mankind itself, right?
:> So we decide that we are the meaning and purpose of the existence of
:> .....what? ??The Earth? ??The solar system? ??The galaxy? ??The universe?
:> --
:> Joanne
:> stitches @ singerlady.reno.nv.us.earth.milky-way.comhttp://members.tripod.com/~bernardschopen/-Hide quoted text -
:>
:> - Show quoted text -

: � � � �No.

: � � � � It's not something we "decide."

: � � � � It's something we are.

: � � � �The FACT of us--the fact that we are what we are, that we are
: different from spiders and plants and rocks and even dogs in the
: specific ways we are-- gives meaning and purpose to life on earth, is
: I'm pretty sure what I �said.

: � � � �Whether it also gives meaning and purpose to a wider field,
: I've never really thought about.

Suppose (as may have been the case with the Neanderthals, and possibly the
Flores group) modern humans co-existed with another very intelligent primate
species, one with (very likely) language, and the same creative urges as
homo sapiens. �Or, suppose there were a vey intellignt and creative reptilian \
species co-existing with us.

On that premise, would you modify your beliefs about meaning of life to say that
both species -- humans and the others -- "[are] the meaning and purpose of life on earth"?

� � � � -- Andy Barss


The short answer is--of course.

The long answer is that you haven't given me enough information to
know what you mean.

If we're talking about another species with the capabilities of
the Neanderthal in that old series Clan of the Cave Bear--then
definitely, such a species would have to be included on a par with the
human.

But I hesitate, but I'm used to arguments where the "humans are
nothing special" side comes up with a shot of triump to declare that
tree slugs are creative because, look, they make huts out of leaves to
hide and incubate their eggs. Aha! Creativity is nothing special--
tree slugs have it, too.

No. I'm not simply talking about "self consciousness" or
"creativity" or even language, but a constellation of capabilities
that makes it possible for the human being to operate on an enormously
elevated plane--to end illnesses like polio and small pox, for
instance.

Look, I have enormous respect for the intelligence of dogs.
I've met several who were smarter than at least some people I know, on
at least SOME levels. I've met some who had a surer instinctual moral
sense than lots of humans I've known.

But at the end of the day, if I was stranded with a good dog I
knew well and a baby on the side of a mountain and I had only three
choices--kill the dog to feed the baby, kill the baby to feed the dog,
or let both dog and baby starve--it would be morally permissable
(possibly even morally required) for me to kill the dog, never the
baby.

And the reason for that is not some arbitrary preference for
one's own species, but a recognition of the reality of differences
between what a dog is, no matter how good and how intelligent, and
what a human being is. And those differences create different moral
obligations for me as an actor in the world.

Jane Haddam
http://www.janehaddam.com
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: OT: Spiked Article/Atheists and EcoChristians
    ... There is no argument that humans are way above other animals in ... purpose of the earth. ... If life on earth IS to have a meaning and a purpose other than producing a ... because it helps some individuals reproduce. ...
    (rec.arts.mystery)
  • Re: The structure of a self-conscious mind
    ... >meaning" is more special than it really is. ... >nothing more than a new sequence of combination of old behaviors. ... The dog is creating just as much "new meaning" ... >I just refuse to believe that humans are as special as so many people seem ...
    (comp.ai.philosophy)
  • Re: OT: Spiked Article/Atheists and EcoChristians
    ... Jane was saying wasn't that the difference between animals and humans ... make humans the reason and purpose of the earth. ... human beings are the meaning and purpose of life on earth. ... "Meaning and purpose" to me means that there is an outside agency of some kind - God, Prime Mover, Universal Consciousness - that has planned and executed our world. ...
    (rec.arts.mystery)
  • Re: Chez Watt Re: Common ancestor between man and ape
    ... arrogance has constantly stood in the way. ... in reference to humans which means that the meaning has changed. ... "Ad hoc is a Latin phrase which means "for this purpose". ...
    (talk.origins)
  • Re: Irreducible stupidty
    ... 'design' there is some motive or purpose behind it. ... Humans = no purpose. ... "purpose" only exists in relation to perception. ... two things devoid of meaning relate to each other to ...
    (talk.origins)