I guess the question is, what makes humans unique from other animals? I mean, a dog has similar characteristics to what we humans do. Two eyes, a mouth, a nose, a brain. He'll get angry if you taunt him, excited if you play with him, he'll whimper if you're cruel to him. We both respond to stimuli, we both long for food and sex and recreation. The only difference I can find that doesn't seem superficial is that our brains are equipped to handle a given situation differently, more or less.
I was with my friend the other day, and we were walking his dog, talking, whatever. All of the sudden, his dog and another dog get into it, barking and growling and shit. They'd have probably really gone at each other if they weren't on leashes. It reminded me of when I saw two guys in school get into a fight. They both puffed themselves up, yelled, and the tension was high. On a base level, I always knew that humans were really animals, but it was only when I made that connection did I truly understand that, to quote George Carlin, we're barely out of the fuckin' jungle.
In a way, most of the things that humans do which we consider "civilized" are only really just things all animals do, articulated. If we're angry at someone, we bicker and argue and fight, instead of just growl.
We have cities and towns and states; packs and flocks are for oh so lowly
animals.
The difference is a matter, perhaps, of reflection. I mean, we have our base needs (food, sleep, shelter), humans and other animals all. I suppose it's whatever we do beyond that which makes us human. We, or at least some of us, ponder our situation, our place in the universe, the condition of mankind; we question when life begins, what it truly is to be alive in the first place, and what happens after we die--I guess as a natural byproduct of having brains equipped to plan and problem solve.
Dread Skavos said:
I like you.