"There is no fundamental difference between man and the higher mammals in their mental faculties. . . .?

Question

"There is no fundamental difference between man and the higher mammals in their mental faculties. . . .?

to translate it, "peoples brains are the same as animals, just superior"

proof, Jenie. A girl raised in captivity, could not learn language and did not even know what a smile was. There was also another boy found to be raised in the woods. Neither of these people were taught language so niether of them knew it, my point is, you would knot know what you know if you were never taught. If we hadnt of invented language we would not have words that we place meaning on, which emotions are derived from.
Nature or Nurture, well its nurture. You are physically the way you are, and the rest is taught

Answer 1

Superior is not a difference?

Answer 2

i dont agree. for one, consideriing all the tests done on apes, none have learned to speak or philosophize. they can, at best, perform mechanical activities like smoke a ciggerette or drive a car. (we start to think they're very smart when we see this - but really its just us humans placnig moral agency on them due to their cuteness..... though they'd rip your face off if provoked; w/ or w/o nuturing)

any anthropologist will tell you there IS a difference in mental capacities of all animals. the smartest of chimps have been compared with the cap of that of a 2 yr old human infant.

nevertheless, if your juxtaposition is that there IS no moral difference between humans and other animals, you havent made a very good point. I place moral agency on mentally challenged people. Intelligence has nothing to do with ones level of humanity - if you want to call it that.

Answer 3

You only used communication as examples. There is a lot more that the human brain can do besides communicate. Although, communication does take up a large percentage of overall brain activity. Our problem solving capabilities, our tool using capabilities, our determining cause and affect capabilities....etc, etc.

Answer 4

Yep..it's called feral children....like the Jungle Book....you are how you are, and the rest is taught, that's a good saying. Just like how I say that atheism is the default place a child is, since that child has no beliefs, but it is taught (or forced in most cases) to them...fun isn't it? ^_^

Answer 5

We've been trying to teach the other animals how to talk and communicate. It seems they just don't get it. Well apart from the occasional parrot and a few dog or circus tricks.

Answer 6

On the contrary, there are genetic "platforms" upon which various abilities are built. The idea of the "Blank Slate" is nonsense.

Answer 7

you mean my brain is like a fly just looking for poop to eat.you mean my brain came from some soup 3 billion years ago, how then can i trust my thinking process?

Answer 8

what the hell is this crap?!