Re: OT - Re: Tim Daneluk

Tim Daneliuk wrote:

There is something profound and transcendent
about being human that cannot be explained away because we
understand the "gears and pulleys" that make us what we
are physically.

I've never agreed with this notion that somehow we humans are somehow
"special" compared to any other life on the planet, or even to
ANYTHING else anywhere.

Let's take it backwards... were Neandertals profound and trancendent?
Whales? Dogs? Spiders? Earthworms? Amoebae? Bacteria? Organic
molecules? Water molecules?

Certainly, some characteristics that define us as "human", such as
creativity, love, hate, etc are either not present in "lower" animals
or are present to a much less complex degree. I would argue that those
characteristics that you use to place humans in a "special" category
are nothing more than manifestations of our complexity.

Fast forward 100 million years and it's very likley that some future
form of life may surpass human complexity and then humans will find
themselves a "lower" animal.

All that said, if you are suggesting that there may be something
"special" about "living things" in general, I would tend to agree with
you... but I suspect that upon closer examination, the distinction
between living and non-living may be less precise than we think.

Joe Barta
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: OT - Re: Tim Daneluk
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