What do you think about this dog who saved his human friends from death?

Question

This actually happened in the next town from where i live. The son had fallen asleep after a few beers with the cigerette and the filter fell on the carpet and the weatherboard house went up in flames

The family dog who was sleeping under the table knew that the carpet was burning and first ran to where the father and mother were sleeping and licked their faces and woke them up. then he ran to the other room and started dragging the son who was sleeping after the beer by his pants

This family was saved because of the dog . now my question is this,

How come animals can be so kind when they have not even heard the name of a god/allah or any religion?

former muslim / free thinker

nobody,

now thats a hypothetical question right?
how do you know that the dog did not act in kindness?

Answer 1

Perhaps because they have not heard of religion ~ they act out of their own natural feelings, with their experience all in the present time, without having to be concerned about a promised future.

Therefore they are free in some degree from the doubts and fears which plague humans.

For the answerer who asks how can we tell if the dog acted out of kindness, we can't be sure of course. BUT the dog had a chance to run away and instead stayed and warned others.

If a human had done this, that person would be called a hero and we would see their photograph in newspapers. So why would it not apply to a dog who behaves in the same way? After all, perhaps the human's motivation is not kindness either ...

Cheers :-)

Answer 2

This is only an issue if one believes that goodness only exists because of some god. In fact, the desire to protect the people/creatures we live with, care for, or even just know, is pretty basic to most animals, including humans. It's an evolutionary advantage to try to help each other - since obviously any species that didn't do this would be more likely to die out.

Answer 3

Dogs love and respect their families just as we do. Anyone who has ever had a pet dog knows this. It is not a survival instinct. It is love.

And they behave the same way for each other in the wild. Wolfpacks are one of the best examples of family units in the animal kingdom, perhaps even surpassing our own, as far as merit goes.

But dogs aren't the only animals that love, feel, and share a sense of morality. It is universal. We're just one of the smartest animals on this particular planet, in that we can put a name to it and discuss it.

Edit - But for the record, I am still puzzled to this day why dogs care so much about the affairs of us silly humans. They thrive on our attention, and will often pay more attention to humans than to other dogs. I've never quite understood why they like us so much. We certainly don't deserve it.

(May you burn in whatever hell exists, Michael Vick) :)

Answer 4

If anyone ever had a reason to believe you where never a Muslim its right here.

Any Muslim knows that ALL animals know their creator and even worship him. You know the little birdies you love so much every morning they wake and give worship in song. That is why its called the "dawn chorus" Naweed. Silly you any Muslim or anyone who has EVER been a Muslim knows this.

Your no "former Muslim" and your about as far from a "free thinker" as you can get.

Answer 5

How do you know the dog acted out of kindness?

ADDENDUM: Of course my response was not an hypothetical question. Your question was "How come animals can be so kind when they have not even heard the name of a god/allah or any religion?"

You're assuming that the dog actually acted out of kindness, and that a god or religion has any influence at all upon whether or not kind acts are committed. How do you know that kindness motivated the animal to do what it did? You're attributing human concepts and motivations to the actions of an animal, which seems silly to me. Furthermore, it sure seems like lots of humans who *have* heard the name of a god or allah or any religion haven't bothered with that whole 'kindness' thing; so I'm unsure why you think those are an influence for humans, let alone animals. I guess my point is you should check your premises.

Answer 6

You'll probably get a lot of ignorant responses to this because too many humans think that love and compassion are exclusively human traits. They don't understand that humans are only a small part of nature, and all mammals, including humans, share many traits. It reminds me of the gorilla who saved a child who'd fallen into the gorilla enclosure. She knew what she was doing, but many humans, undoubtedly, gave her no credit because she is, after all, "just an animal." We humans have a lot to learn.

Answer 7

It's an instinctual act - to survive. A pet that becomes so dear to it's owners has the drive to protect it's family, or it's pack.

Dogs, like wolves, need the support of their pack to survive. Wolves hunt in packs, they commune together, keep each other company, it serves as protection, comfort, all a need for survival.

Dogs need their human owners for the same reasons, out of safety and survival they'll do anything to preserve that family/pack bond.

Answer 8

Great question. Of course, the religious among us would like to believe that there can't be love and goodness without god. As many have pointed out, if they need god to keep them in line, to give them a moral sense, then perhaps they're *less* noble than the atheists who love and care (like the dog) without the threat of hell and brimfire.

Answer 9

we do NOT need religion to be kind, or to know wrong from right, does anybody need religion to know whether killing innocents is bad? or whether helping others is good? maybe some does, but obviously seems like talking to the wall, Islam for example says don't kill but on the other hand, encouraging eliminating "Kuffar" or beating wife, or enslaving the "enemy" or taking over their wives.

Religions are good for soul but when religion is less strict and more focus on soul building rather than rules making.

Answer 10

I dont consider myself religous, i just do good things because its fun. MMOs, ill distribute what little wealth ive got, ill fix almost anyone's computer. I dont know if the dog acted out of kindness, could just protecting his "property", but maby not