Animal value in an atheistic world?

Question

I am an atheist so I do not have a higher being telling me that humans are of more value then animals so...

What is it about intelligence, sapience, etc. that makes a human life more valuable than an animals?

Yes, I realize that you can extend that to bugs and microorganisms also and I acknowledge that fact.

Do not assume the point i.e. Would you rather let a baby die than a dog.

And no I am not an environmental wacko, just a philosophical question that I can't make headway with.

Answer 1

I did an 8-month sabbatical working on this very question.

I don't think that there's a great gulf in value between human beings and higher animals. I think that the important dividing line comes at the ability to have experiences. I don't think that bugs and microorganisms have experiences, so they're not nearly as valuable as we are (though ALL life is tremendously valuable). Dogs and cats and the like, on the other hand, clearly do, and I believe that it is only a bias towards our "own kind" that makes it difficult to value them as highly as we do other people.

Here's a thought experiment. Imagine a research lab, with a row of cages with dogs and cats and monkeys and the like along one wall. Along another wall is a row of flasks containing fertilized human eggs and embryos. A fire breaks out in the lab while people are working in there. You're a firefighter.

Do you enter to try to save the people in there?

Assuming "yes", once you've done that, what do you do next? Would you go back in to save the animals? That's what atheist values suggest.

Or would you insist that you believe in "souls", and believe that even a fertilized egg has a "soul", and so rush in and ignore the animals in order to save the eggs and embryos instead?

If you seriously think that you'd save the eggs rather than the animals, I think you have an extremely perverse sense of morals, and frankly, I don't think you're to be trusted in charge of anything living. Yet that's exactly what the anti-abortionist stance says you should do.

Answer 2

All animals, us included, are stuck on this small rocky world together. Humans have an opportunity to cherish their surroundings or not give a damn. I am an atheist and an animal lover. I realize that there are other "intelligences" on our planet besides my own species. I value the preciousness and uniqueness of all life. If I had to save a baby and a dog, I'd save the baby first. But I'd try to save both. It's not that I'm better than the dog. I just have species prejudice. It's hard not to.

Answer 3

The higher being that you speak of is just the individual conscience of a person that is based on beliefs that are formed in childhood, most likely from their families and their environment.

Animals have their place and are as valuable as human beings. Some are more accomplished than others in both species.

There are " Vile and Evil" or"Good and Unconditionally loving and helpful!"

Animal or human being, it's all the same!

Answer 4

Humans are just as much as animals as any other animal in this world...however, we are predators (consuming cows, chickens, fish, etc). So while we are not better than animals, we can eat them because we were designed to do so (being omnivores and all). Look at the lion. They are not any better or more valued than the gazelle, and yet they eat the gazelle.

And no, I wouldn't rather a baby die than a dog. Of course, I would like for both to live, but when it comes down to it, I would sooner protect the baby. We tend to have a 'cutesy' response to babies--humans naturally want to protect them (this way, out population doesn't die out because we aren't protecting our young). Another example: dolphins, also very smart creatures, have gone out of their way to save humans before. However, they would probably prefer to save one of their own kind than some human.

So, in short, it's simply a matter of survival of the fittest.

Answer 5

I don't think it is more valuable, except that it is our species. Mammals demonstrate deep emotional attachments to relatives and friends, that resonates within us. I think we value life with a ranking that matches the sameness to us. The more similar another being, the more likely we are to value it. I think that we even see that to a point with race, we feel more closely associated to those of the same race. I'm not saying prejudice is inborn, except in the most liberal sense, but I think that we are able to assume that something thinks and feels as we do and thus have more sympathy for it when it looks and acts like us.

Answer 6

Please tell me you don't work in the medical field. I'd hate to see a doctor or nurse let a patient die because their life has no more value than the life of a bacteria. I'm not sure you would make a good babysitter either. If the baby were attacked by a stray dog, would you stand back and watch, trying to figure out which life has more value, the baby's or the dog's? I don't think these decisions are a problem for most atheists. Are they? What about loyalty to your own species, if nothing else?

Answer 7

The development of the cortex in higher primates (most fully in humans) allows old hard wired responses to be combined and weighted in multiple new ways, leading to fuller ability to both experience and act. This makes humanity more 'valuable' in this sense only. It is still important to realize that how we deal with our world and fellow beings directly reflects how much of these higher capacities we are actually using.

Answer 8

An excellent question. I see what you are saying. I love animals. In many ways I believe that animals are superior. They do not kill for greed or religion. I would never choose the life of an animal over a person though. I would never kill an animal for sport either.

Is it intelligence that makes us more valuable? Maybe it is empathy and conscience that makes us more valuable.

Like I said, good question.

Answer 9

Satanism is quite in keeping with "eye for a watch" and extra on fact. A fashionable logician that maximum atheists right here ought to comprehend by the call of Anton LaVey replaced into in fact a Satanist yet he replaced into very ethical and had compassion for the susceptible and gentle. whilst somebody thinks of Satanist they assume they are evil, which isn't the case. i do no longer think of God exists. actually once you die i doubt something occurs. lifeless is lifeless. i need to be incorrect even in spite of the shown fact that it sort of feels surprisingly no longer likely, it extremely is a frustrating pill for the human race to swallow. If there's a God i do no longer think of it extremely is a single being, it must be each and every person and each thing mutually no longer in basic terms somebody or somebody. which might clarify why there is not any interference by some Deity in our prevalent lives.

Answer 10

who am i to say that an animal is less value than i? who would i be if i thought like that?

animals are beautiful, some people can be too..like babies, until they lose their innocence.

people cannot be trusted. they can smile in your face all while plotting a way to get over on you.

when i look at an animal and all i can think of is graceful beauty not bothered by any problems other than man steppin on its toes

think what would this world be like without any other form of life other than humans? sounds pretty dark and dismal i think i will keep admiring the animals and nature and doing my part by keeping my litter and trash contained cause people who litter are scumbags

what was the question again?
animals are better than humans!!