Poll: Should our species be exempt from culling?

[MaVeN1337]

I say yes to sex. And no to babies.

 

[LadyMint]

Well this is just a sun-shiney topic, now isn't it?

The human race isn't exempt from culling or "thinning out of our numbers," so to speak. There's a lot in this world that kills us, including ourselves. Now, if you're talking about enacting some sort of legal lining up of people and killing them... I believe that's what the holocaust was and I don't know anyone who wants a return of that situation.

 

[Dimitriov]

I should also point out that culling will definitely not solve the problem. Do you know what people do when there is an increased rate of mortality? They start humping like rabbits... we didn't get as far as we have by being easy to kill off as a species.

After WW2? One of the biggest population booms in history.

 

[Kadoodle]

I'm for it, but they'd have to make it look like an accident.


Alternatively, we could stop looking for the cure to various diseases. Cancer, smallpox, polio, you name it.

 

[EPolleys]

The solution is simple (albeit not easy) colonize space, if not the planet Mars we could begin construction of a superstation capable of housing X amount of people (superlaser not included)
Seriously though a huge space station sounds more possible within a century than terraforming.

Edit: I'd just like to add that 1984 comes to mind when reading most of these posts suggesting we limit free will to control the population, or heavily suggest it through propaganda...

 

[BlackSaint09]

So you people think that either limiting human reproduction or all out mass-murder are the only options to solve this problem?(no offence to anyone on this thread)
I think the more difficult and more logical option of stabilizing the global economy and pumping more money into science so that we could start inhabiting other planets would be better.
But im not really an expert on these things.(no im serious not sarcastic)

 

[Azrael the Cat]

As the most destructive species on the planet, why are we not taking more drastic measures to lower our population? We're quick to kill thousands of animals for overpopulating, yet they aren't nearly as dangerous to the planet's wellbeing as we are.
Are we collectively too arrogant to see how disgusting our species really is?

I think you need to define culling. If you are talking about the extermination of humans you need to seek help. If you are talking about limiting child births and such... well people are arrogant, selfish, stupid, and unwilling to work for the greater good.


I think our biggest problem is that we killed natural selection.

Naturalism fallacy. We are still part of the process of natural selection - we've just altered what traits confer an advantage, like all apex predators have before us (creatures with tough hides made sharp teeth an advantage, creatures that destroyed much of the food source made the ability to scavenge/store food an advantage etc). We're not the only creature that builds things - bees and beavers do that too. We aren't even the only creatures that use tools (culturally separated, as opposed to purely instinctual, tool use has been found in chimps, orangutangs and bonobos).

We're just bees building hives, in a larger and more self-aggrandising manner. We are a naturally occurring creature, ergo everything we do is natural. It might not be right or wrong, but to distinguish it on the basis of greater or lesser naturalism is a logical fallacy - the only thing that could fail to be part of nature and natural selection would be if aliens arrived on Earth. And even then we might just have to extend our ideas of what 'natural' is, unless the aliens had no equivalent for genetic passing of material.

That doesn't mean that we don't have important moral significance. But that comes from our traits - the capacity for self-awareness, meaningful autonomy, pleasure and suffering through complex lifeplans and attribution of value to relationships and projects - not from what degree of 'naturalness' we hold.

 

[Caligulove]

I'm actually very disturbed 'No' is the leading answer..

If you're talking about the inevitable decrease in our population from overpopulation and foot shortages- that really cannot be stopped at some point, but to actively make policy to forcibly kill off our population- how the hell could you be in favor of that? How could you be so detached from humanity that you think it would be a good thing to just let us kill ourselves? We are the only known species that is both able to inflict great sorrow on ourselves but also the ability to take proactive measures and better ourselves.

This suggestion of culling ourselves is fucking Iron Age problem solving.

 

[drisky]

No, I don't think we should hunt humans for sport, General Zaroff.

 

[QUINTIX]

I say the human population is innovative enough to safely reach 2^35 persons (over 34 billion) before we need to start populating other planets.

We're just bees building hives

And computers, and videogames

Seriously, do none of you militant naturalists find it a little odd, given all the "diversity" just on our planet, that there isn't at least one another kind of creature on earth (radically different morphologically) with something as basic as a written language?

 

[Valkyrie101]

The point I'm making is that we humans have unimaginable potential: just look at how far we've come in the last five thousand years. Trees and flowers have zero potential, and literally do not have minds, so should be disregarded.

So... Should we kill off all the plants and trees then? How about insects? or even half the other far inferior species could probably go as well. They are obviously in the way our progression to ascend to out rightful place as gods of this world? [/sarcasm]

No, because they're useful to us. We need them to exist. Note that this only makes them important in conjunction with humanity.

Okay, that was probably quite offensive and distasteful to people, so apologies where needed.

Seriously though I am probably one of the first people to admit that I dislike other people, even put back in context, the superior-species entitlement some people have these days is quite disturbing.

So here we go, you're a people-hating misanthrope, which explains why you get on better with grass than people. But some of us have a vested interest in survival and progress.

 

[Pyro Paul]

Humanity as a species is the most destructive force on this planet we are the only species that knowlingly destroys our environment, our atmosphere, and the extinction of other species. We have the gift of knowledge and we choose to burn the world to a cinder instead of using it to make a better place. With this view I do beleive the population does need to be monitered and controled but by civilized means like birth control.

You think 'nature' is all lolly pops and gumdrops?
Nature is the most distructive force ever witnessed. it is full of chaos which, through flukes, alter the fate of millions of species.

we have the gift of knowledge, and we use it to Fight nature and try and bring order into a random chaotic world.

Global Warming, for instance.
That is a Fluke caused in a shift of the earths orbit from the increased number of massive volcanic eruptions and huge earth quakes seen in the past 50-100 years. It would of happened regardless if weither or not humans existed...

yet, as a race, we try and 'stop' it...

you give humans too much credit.
we are mearly a speck of paint in the larger picture... a grain in the hourglass of time... nothing more then a foot note in the annals of existance. To believe that we are anything more is just arrogance.

 

[omega 616]

Culling? That's sick. I'm all for cutting back on reproduction, but outright murder is just disgusting.

Yeah, try telling that to people. "Hey, can you give up your right to have more than one child? Even though you have enjoyed that freedom all your life".

It would be painfully hard to enforce that.

Just a thought, what about bringing natural selection back ... in a way. For instance, kill or abort a baby with a genetic defect, like down syndrome?

I mean, how much joy are they really going to get out of life? I know it would be heart braking with a population of around 7 billion we have to do something.

There can't just be a never ending population growth, I knew a family who had 13 kids from one mum!

The only way to reduce the population is to have one child per person 'cos if some people don't have kids the population will decrease.

I mean we have loads of children in adoption agencys, give them a home instead of making one.

 

[lord canti]

Every time I hear someone say animals are no more important than humans. I ask them if they would take an animals life to save their own kid? That usually shuts them up.

 

[Azure Sky]

The point I'm making is that we humans have unimaginable potential: just look at how far we've come in the last five thousand years. Trees and flowers have zero potential, and literally do not have minds, so should be disregarded.

So... Should we kill off all the plants and trees then? How about insects? or even half the other far inferior species could probably go as well. They are obviously in the way our progression to ascend to out rightful place as gods of this world? [/sarcasm]

No, because they're useful to us. We need them to exist. Note that this only makes them important in conjunction with humanity.

Okay, that was probably quite offensive and distasteful to people, so apologies where needed.

Seriously though I am probably one of the first people to admit that I dislike other people, even put back in context, the superior-species entitlement some people have these days is quite disturbing.

So here we go, you're a people-hating misanthrope, which explains why you get on better with grass than people. But some of us have a vested interest in survival and progress.

And you're a specie-elitist Hitler that doesn't seem to realize all facets of his own race (Not to mention doesn't read whole posts)

Now that I have given you the satisfaction of sinking to your level of namecalling, shall we move on?

I don't know about you, but I'm sure I can name the primary only contributing factor that will lead humanity extinct.

 

[Azure Sky]

Every time I hear someone say animals are no more important than humans. I ask them if they would take an animals life to save their own kid? That usually shuts them up.

That depends, would you take the life of another human to save your own kid?
Would you take two? =3

 

[bad rider]

Humanity as a species is the most destructive force on this planet we are the only species that knowlingly destroys our environment, our atmosphere, and the extinction of other species. We have the gift of knowledge and we choose to burn the world to a cinder instead of using it to make a better place. With this view I do beleive the population does need to be monitered and controled but by civilized means like birth control.

You think 'nature' is all lolly pops and gumdrops?
Nature is the most distructive force ever witnessed. it is full of chaos which, through flukes, alter the fate of millions of species.

we have the gift of knowledge, and we use it to Fight nature and try and bring order into a random chaotic world.

Global Warming, for instance.
That is a Fluke caused in a shift of the earths orbit from the increased number of massive volcanic eruptions and huge earth quakes seen in the past 50-100 years. It would of happened regardless if weither or not humans existed...

yet, as a race, we try and 'stop' it...

you give humans too much credit.
we are mearly a speck of paint in the larger picture... a grain in the hourglass of time... nothing more then a foot note in the annals of existance. To believe that we are anything more is just arrogance.

In response to the question: Do you think human activity is a significant contributing factor in changing mean global temperatures?

Source: http://www.skepticalscience.com/global-warming-scientific-consensus-intermediate.htm

 

[Kingsnake661]

Culling? That's sick. I'm all for cutting back on reproduction, but outright murder is just disgusting.

Why is it any more wrong than killing any other species? That is the big point of my question. What makes us so special? For hundreds of millions of years, animals have lived harmoniously with the planet. In all that time, we are the only species to be aiding in the planets destruction. Why are we so deserving of existence but other more respectable species aren't?

If you belive in God, it's because we'er created in his image.

If you don't, it's cause we'er the top of the food chain.

Simple truth is, we'er special because we'er the higher life form, reguardless of how you think we got there. Either by divine grace or survivle of the fittest.

 

[quantumsoul]

No way. It would too easily turn into mass execution of disabled people. Having dealt with people for varying handicaps, they're not the drain on society some think they are.

Limiting the number of births is the only way I'd accept population control.

 

[razer17]

Why is it suddenly hip to hate human kind? Maybe we should cull those who feel that we should kill other humans, because apparently there are more of those than people who don't like to see others killed.