Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Human/Nonhuman Animals

I think the determining factor between human and nonhuman animals is the way they treat each other and their young. Certain animals choose mates for life and others are as polygamous as they choose to be. Some animals leave their young to fend for themselves only minutes after they are born and other animals care for their young for years after they were born. Animals that have problem-solving abilities, or that can learn through experiences could be considered "human," while animals whose only brain functions are to eat, sleep, reproduce, and basically survive would be thought of as "nonhuman."

1 comment:

Nomble' Lee said...

I do not agree that the determining factor between human and nonhuman animals is the way some animals treat their young. The way human animals and nonhuman animals raise their young is in many cases similar depending on where you are raised around the world. In some cultures young men and women become adults at very young ages and they are taught to live on their own. also there are many animals that live with their families forever. most importantly i do not believe that a nonhuman animals brain functions only to eat sleep and reproduce. nonhuman animals are capable of many things. human animals and nonhuman animals have more similarities than differences. As Paola Cavalieri says " nonhuman animals are no longer utterly exculded from the moral community they are that is numbered among moral patients" meaning that they have the same moral rights as human
animals

Nomble' Lee