Furries - Not Entirely Human?

[Wintermoot]

the whole GID thing is probably a minority I do think that if you consider yourself less then 100% human you should probably get out more or get some help.
I don,t really have a thing against furries but that kinda takes it a bit to far.

 

[Freechoice]

Besides, none of those people thought they were animals (that is, non-human members of the animal kingdom), or if they did think so, they were wrong.

You'd be surprised. Very recently I studied the concept of animism [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animism] within certain cultures. The belief that humanity is subject to context is actually very commonly held, especially outside of Western philosophy. We tend to think of things in terms of very strict black-and-white concepts ("This is a human, this is a dog"), but a lot of people in other parts of the world think it's foolish to make judgements based solely on physical characteristics or arbitrary distinctions.

I am reminded of English teachers.

Not sure exactly what you mean.
But if you meant that "the West are happy enough calling a spade a spade and the Rest like to over-complicate it with bullshit" I think you've misunderstood.

Western thought tends to be rooted in concepts such as Descartes' mind-body duality and the sense that the world can be delineated into a series of reductive components (e.g. atoms) and concepts (e.g. nations). Which causes a lot of problems when the real world doesn't quite fit that model. Non-Western cultures, on the other hand, tend to embrace the chaos of reality and the fact that most concepts can't be cleanly separated from each other.

But the West does identify inherent disorder. It's entropy. Most people don't consciously consider it because of the scientific nature of it, but it's there. As well, (at least in the realm of good science) models of the real world that don't fit get adjusted to fit. It's not about complete adherence to rigid structure, but rather the ability to observe phenomena and make adjustments to one's theory.

As for people, well people are usually too dumb to want to accept that there is a proper course of action. People's ills are often the result of them not seeing reality for what it is. You know, American Dream, American Nightmare. That sort of thing.

And didn't Socrates or Aristotle have an animistic belief that wasn't about concisely identifying things?

 

[Vicarious Reality]

I remember reading a werewolf book when i was like 10 and being absolutely fascinated by the concept of being more than human. I think it is as simple as that, people get bored with humans in not many years, so they make up whatever
Do you ever wonder why nearly all sentient aliens on science fiction look like altered humans?

 

[jizzytissue]

either way they are disgusting ! also TL;DR

 

[penguindude42]

First off: it's a subculture, and a large one at that.

Second: this thread is a dissapointment.

 

[Mournful Crow]

...... As interesting as this study is, there are still starving children in the world we could help... But in all seriousness, I have a few friends who are furries. They both consider themselves less than human... Now, I honestly didn't understand why they would think that until now... On a predictory note, I have a feeling that this will be the basis of another Civil rights movement of sorts, but instead of African Americans, Homosexuals, Transsexuals, and whatever else has been fought for, it will be for those who got Species Reassignment/Species Modification surgery... We have the ability to do it, so it will probably be done... Ah well, who am I to judge...

 

[Eomega123]

I don't blame em, being a human's boring as hell sometime. Like the lack of tail, what mammal worth his salt doesn't have a tail?

 

[gNetkamiko]

I apologize for necroing a 2-week old thread, but I've been the target on of someone's furry-hating stance on youtube for the past week (it's a Starbound pre-view vid by a youtuber named Ockpii) only because I suggested that, since the team announced a playable Avian race, that the team add in canines (wolves, specifically, but that's just my preference) and damn near every species of large felines (Lions, Leopards, etc...).

Well, luckily, that hater is getting his ass flamed by damn near every single one of Ockpii's subscribers, and I'm just loving the shit out of it!

I'll admit, my arguments at the beginning were fairly weak, but the guy just kept repeating himself like a broken record, even going so far as to repeatedly say the bullshit argument "Furries fuck animals".

Anyways, here's the link to the comments section of that vid in case you guys need a good read: http://www.youtube.com/all_comments?v=Gxg8NVyZaCo

*Edit* I'm going to say this now, as I'm not going to hide it anymore... yes, I am a furry, but I'm not a zoophile.

*Edit #2* Holy crap! I just went back to that page and saw a huge line of "comment removed: author withheld"! Oh happy day! ^_^

And, yes, I realized that he's a troll, but still. Having someone who discriminates like that get waylayed on all sides is a damn fine sight to behold in my opinion.

 

[thebobmaster_v1legacy]

I self identify as a furry, but I most certainly am human. It all depends on your definition of "furry". For me, I identify as a furry based on the fact that I am attracted to certain anthros in fictional works.

Edit: The story is interesting, and it does make you think. However, it all depends on what you consider to be a furry. I'm not saying that the author of the study is wrong, because they aren't. I just have a different idea of what a furry is.

 

[hanzkidz]

I think furries get way, way, way too much hate on the internet and in real life (and by too much hate, I mean any hate at all really). Some people seem to have an intense dislike for anything they see as weird or "gross" or different and it's really not fair.

As for people who feel disconnect with their species, I can understand that. While you may be human in terms of body, that doesn't mean you are human in terms of mind. I believe some trans* people bristle at the idea of being compared to those who experience dysphoria with their species (and I think there are good reasons for this), but I can see how a dysphoria with gender may be similar to a dysphoria with their species. Also, I think the existence of GID does make part of a case for the existence of SID and I don't think that we should rule out totally the idea of having a species within your brain (something that is to your physical species as gender is to sex).

Actually I'm willing to say that even furries hate themselves from my experience with fur affinity.