Why do you think that Humans were made the dominant species on Earth?

Question

If you think about it...there are tons of other species on this planet that are almost as, or as, smart as Humans (dolphins, monkeys, parrots). So...why us???

Just something I thought I'd add to really clarify why I asked this question.

Human beings are also a very cruel race. We kill one another for silly things, like oil. Sometimes, humans kill just for fun. There are plenty of other species out there that don't do this. So why was the intelligent, but cruel, race "chosen" to be the dominant species. (By chosen I mean...why did it happen that way?)

Answer 1

Who knows, maybe we're not......
like you said, there are plenty of other intelligent species, so what if they are smarter than us?
Animals seem to have worked out all of those tricky little problems that us humans can't seem to wrap our minds around - teamwork and the like
if you think about it, we're the ones that could potentially destroy ourselves
sometimes I swear my cat is just laughing at us - "look at those humans! they're behaving like animals!"
and you must admit, there are plenty of us that do

Answer 2

Dominant, how? Different meanings of the word can be used. Humans are obviously not the dominant species physically. Cheetahs run a helluva lot faster, lions are stronger, etc. We can't survive well in harsh environments.

How about civilization? Humans build dirty, overpopulated , and nature-polluting cities, filled with cars, smoke, drugs, and murderers. Animals (for an example, I'll use wolves) travel in packs of varying sizes. They kill, but for food, not for fun or sport. They have their own form of communication, and a pack leader, chosen by strength and reliability rather how much they can pay for campaigning.

Intelligence? No one can answer that question, because we don't honestly know how smart other species are. We don't know how to communicate with them. Scientifically, we're probably smarter. But then again, we got that knowledge through two ways: wanting to understand to the world around us, which led to religion and killing people over it. The other ways was through the desire to destroy each other. So are we really the smartest?

On an additional note, I read that someone said that we are dominant because we are "...the only setient life form..." This may be untrue. Take a dog for example. There are numerous tests to determine your dog's intelligence. For example, show your dog two treats. Put one behind your back and give you dog the other one. It will know that you have the second treat and will look for it behind your back. Also, you can put a treat under a bucket and see how long it takes for the dog to get the treat. My friends dog did it in less than five seconds...it simply knocked over the bucket, and took the treat. This shows that animals are not stupid...it just shows that they are happy living the lives that they do...and not using their intelligence to the extent that humans do.

So...humans aren't the OVERALL dominant species on the planet. So why do we have so much power? ...We got lucky. We developed movable thumbs. We gained the ability to adapt. In fact, it's that very ability that has allowed us to survive on this planet. So, you thank our dominance on luck and adaption. Because if it wasn't for that, we wouldn't even be a species on this planet, let alone the dominant one.

Answer 3

Glad you clarified because I would have said that I don't think we were "made" dominant. :-)

I've asked myself this very question, and to this day have not found satisfactory answers.

There are flaws in Darwin's theory, as well as, the many religious theories out there, well actually, with the latter, I'd say myths.

Then, there's the Annunaki theory, which has evidence found in Sumerian texts, stone carvings and artifacts, as well as, Egyptian, Mayan, etc. But because there is no concrete evidence of alien life outside of earth, this theory, while having loads of proof, still falls short.

So, who knows why us humans use the faculty of reason for destructive purposes rather than survival, which is only nature afterall, to aim towards survival, not human extinction.

My father always said to me that the best way to know a person's true character is to give him/her power.
So I suppose that says something about what we have done and do with reason.

Said this in another question...we humans are the only specie that conflicts with nature.

Answer 4

The manner that you ask the question presumes that we were "made" the dominant race by someone's decision. Perhaps you should first ask: "Were we MADE the dominant race?"

Your question also implies that there is a reason based motive (as if it were thought out by someone) and chosen to be so by that implied someone.

Contrary to the theory of design, there is just as much evidence supporting the existance of order without decision or design. As a matter of fact it is that exact same evidence that argues both ways. The confusion arises between function/purpose and order.

Perhaps we are not the dominant species on earth and are simply allowed to think we are by those superior because it benefits them in some fashion that we are unaware of.

In light of this consideration of our ignorance (vs. our knowledge) You might first ask "ARE we the dominant race on the planet?"

What exactly do you consider dominant anyways?

Answer 5

Many atheists believe that most or all creatures in the animal world are essentially equal to human beings. They love promoting that the human race is just another ape-like creature. This is depressing for many atheists because it leads to the reality [if their presuppositions are true] that there is no real meaning or purpose to life. They then must admit that humanity is on a sinking ship. As such they need only to determine if they will stoically stand on deck and salute or merely go below deck and play cards with the others soon to die and so cover over the realities of life with Hedonism.

Answer 6

Nobody else claims that humans are the most dominant. It's just humans who make such assumption. Bare in mind, nobody is dominant than the other. Everyone is important to sustain survival of all species.

Answer 7

dominant species?
You're thinking of intelligence...
with life what matters is survivability... a category in which micro-organisms have us so far beat it's not even worth TRYING to compete with them.
Also, we're the only sentient beings- which means we're the only ones capable of THINKING we're the dominant species.
I'd ask why we're the MOST DIVORCED from nature species on Earth.

Answer 8

Actually I'm reading a book on this very topic at the moment.

But since I just started it, I can't give you the answer yet, lol!

Anyway, the book is 'The Rise and Fall of the Third Chimpanzee' by Jared Diamond. It's a good read so far.

Answer 9

Actually God asked all the species the same question, "Would you like to be the dominant species on Earth?".

The cow said "Moo moo" The dolphins gave out some weird sound and the monkeys went "khee khee" and scratched their armpits. The humans were the only ones who said, "Yes, please". Since God speaks only English (as we all know), he couldn't understand what they were saying and gave it to us.

Answer 10

I don't think anyone 'made' humans the dominant species. The development of our cerebral cortex separated us from lower life forms...