What makes man more superior than all other species?

Question

What does it mean to be human?
What differenciates man from the animal kingdom?
What gives man the right to degrade other species who lie in his path?

Two arms, two legs, two eyes and two ears?
Apes are beings who possess these characteristics. So why are we or why do we think we're more superior than them?
What about someone who has loss one of their limbs. Does that mean they are less human?

What do you think defines a human?
Memories? Mind? Conscience? Personality?

Answer 1

Human's are not nessecarily the most superior species on the planet. There are a number of species who exhibit superior qualities to our own.

Let's speak population. Ants and indeed a lot of insectia have much greater numbers than humans do. They have survived much longer spans of time on Earth than mankind has.

Let's speak physical characteristics. Humans do not own the top spot on any category. Speed, strength and agility typically are found in much higher proportions in many other species.

Disease resistance is also higher in some species. Sharks for example are known for their resistance to cancer.

Mentally we seem to take the top prize, but that's it. There is also no secondary point to compare if our type of intellect is an evolutionary advantage. We have survived many thousands of years while other species have lineages dating millions. See crocodiles for example. Mentally mankind has already developed tools powerful enough to render the race extinct. This does not seem like an advantage if analyzed objectively.

Our intellect may prove to be our undoing and should we self-destruct, we will likely be the first species to terminate our own existance willingly.

To answer your second question, it means nothing. While others may believe otherwise, being a human is as important as being a jellyfish. Assuming that mere existance makes the species special should automatically impart special status on all other species that exist.

Man cannot be differentiated from the animal kingdom. We have a species code as well. We do everything all other lifeforms do. We use our evolutionary forged capabilities to survive long enough to breed, interact with the environment and perish.

To address your third question, rights are a social concept mankind created to justify behavior. Animals may not see it in so complicated a manner. Think of it this way, you are walking along the plains of Africa when a lion comes out of the bushes, kills you and eats you for dinner.

What right did that lion have to eat you? The lion does not think in terms of rights. Only humans do this. The lion is just hungry and decided you were a convenient meal.

Do you think the lion cares about your opinion or the opinion of other humans, or other lions, or elephants? I assure you the lion cares less. It will not have a guilt trip a few days later thinking about you screaming as it cut you down. In fact it may learn that humans are easy prey.

Because this lion ate you, did he degrade your species? No, it just ate you and that's it. It probably does not even remember what you look like either.

Somebody who has lost a limb is genetically human. Watch a few murder documentaries. When scientists find remains they will often categorize them a human. So now you may expand your question a little. If you are dead, are you still human?

Humans can be defined as the only species on planet Earth that can take the simplest acts of nature and overcomplicate them to such a degree that they must respecialize themselves to understand the systems of behavior that they have artificially enacted to control themselves.

Answer 2

I think the number one reason they think this is because they want to think it since they are humans themselves. I really resent the whole "intelligence" argument. If that is the case then anyone whose intelligence is on the same line as another animal would be classified as less than human and then LEGALLY treated as such. Supposedly humans have a conscience and that is what differentiates them, however, on these forums alone I have seen more than enough evidence to support the contrary (the majority of the answers to one of the questions I asked is an example of this ).

Regardless of what people's reasons are as to what makes us superior, the argument will almost always relate to "the fact that we dominate the other species and they can't do anything about it". In that respect, unarguably we are not the superior species. Viruses are.

Answer 3

The perception that man is superior to all other life is typical of the arrogance of humanity. We give little credit except to us. We are different- no question about that. The difference has given us power, but certainly not much wisdom.

In fact, EVERY animal (except those modified by human contact) can do what NO human can do- survive totally with what nature gave it.

Other than humans, Nature works and it's life non only survives, it's life thrives- and it happens without police, lawyers, preachers, politicians and all the crap we use to try to control the chaos and destruction of the human species.

Animals other than man do not destroy or poison their own world, nor do they fill it with trash. .

The question we should be asking the non-human life on this planet is- "Will you teach us how to live successfully?"

Animals obviously know a lot about living successfully that humans don't have a clue about.

Answer 4

The ONLY thing that makes man "superior" is the feeling of superiority and the ability to declare superiority.

To be human (literally) means to have an upright posture, functional feet and hands (with opposable thumbs) and the capacity to think literally and logically and (figuratively) to be able to feel, think, and perform actions to help oneself and others.

Our ability to perform work and dominate other species (and use them to our advantage) makes us different and "superior" to the animal kingdom.

Nothing but man the right to degrade other species other than the simple fact that he can. But that also raises the question- just because he can, should he?

Lastly, there are many things that can define a human; morality, conscienciousness, personality, ability, traits, characteristics, intelligence, capacity, etc.

Answer 5

To be human is to exist in the image and state of the true and superior God. To become a perfect force in time itself. Man is different from the animal kingdom simply, because animals were made for his pleasure, and to keep a perfect harmony and balance with nature that man can not do alone. And human minds are programmed to go beyond their small thoughts ,to the pure thoughts of their creator. Man has no right to degrade anything in nature. They are so to be protectors of nature. And when man falls short of his duties bad things happen like the flood of Noah's time, that killed our ancestor's. And the uncontrollable storms we're having now, like Katrina that was caused by global warming . We are superior in some sense to animals, because we make weapons that can harm them and other human beings. And animals do not have the mind capacity to do these things . They're programmed to fear humans until we prove them wrong. Just like our brains tell us not to go near a hungry lion . Animals minds carry stored information telling them, that humans are cruel and if caught by one they'll be captured and killed . What defines a human is that, if he learns to become one with the light. He has a chance to live and eternal life, learning and developing into a being far more superior than any living human being could ever be .

Answer 6

My first thought was to say ego but I suppose that man has many abilities that make him appear superior to other lifeforms.I imagine our thought processes, our ability to improve our quality of life through technology, education, medicine,etc are also to be considered.Unfortunately even though we can record history we often fail to learn from it. We make technological advances that make life easier but destroy our earth.We educate people but cannot teach them to use common sense.We know how to take care of our own needs but often fail to reach out and give others a hand up.Somehow life has given us the privilege to advance through the ages but we have also lost a lot of the basics of human kindness and compassion.I'm not saying all people have lost their way but if a sense of entitlement is a sign of superiority then we have taken a step backwards.

Answer 7

Thumbs. Pardon the pun, hands down!

I think our DOG is smarter than I am, she wants to go to school with my SON and I won't let her because she speaks a foreign language and has no thumbs, definitely a disability in SCHOOL.

Other than thumbs, our cognition of ourselves in the first person and ability to express that and ideas in the present, part, and future.

Again, my dog is pretty good with sign language and present tense. She has a hard time distinguishing between the SQUIRRELS that crawl around a tree out front and the BIG SQUIRRELS across the street that drive a suv. And that when they come home tonight, they are the same BIG SQUIRRELS that went to work this morning and actually belong across the street.

But then she has accepted me as the big DOG of her pack, even if she is jealous of those marvelous paws of mine that do magic on those door things for FOOD and OUTSIDE and WALK

BARK...BARK...BARK!

(The capitalized parts of this discussion my DOG actually understood.!)

Answer 8

Humans are not truly different on a physical level. The difference comes form their inherent ability to think on a deeper level. The one, true question to this answer stems forth from the man's ability to ask question, "What am I?" This is the one true difference everything else is the same.

Answer 9

We are not superior to all other species. We are just different. In fact right about now if the other species could all have the ability to talk, they'd say, "Thanks a lot humans for global warming, and destroying the planet that we all share, you right selfish bastards."

Answer 10

Human is more intelligence than others species on earth and human make weapons that is destructive to humankind. Can we call ourself more superior?