i wonder if animals have thoughts like humans.. if only they could speak our language then we would know for sure. but if they could, would the thought of "should i or shouldn't i?" be in their mind dictionary?

animals follow instinct, they don't nessicarily have a sense of right or wrong as such, obviously there are less intelegent animals etc.
Actually i watched this documentary on elephants a while ago, and this baby elephant from another herd got stuck in this mud thing, and the herd nearby saved it, even though it wasn't one of their offspring and they would gain no benifit from saving it.
So i guess they knew the sense of wanting to help, and maybe do right in some form.

Hmmm, they also bury their dead, and defend the carcass of any elephant from bieng stripped by other animals.

Dude, I love you!

Depending on what your beliefs on life are, you'll have a different opinion of the human race. Personally, since I'm pretty much a nihilist (nothing matters), I believe that humans are the lowest life form, because while we do things to survive, we also do unnecessary things (creating things not directly related to survival), and all we do is destroy. We do not destroy to create; we destroy to destroy. And that, to me, is a lower standard than that of the world's animals.

[ 10-14-2004, 07:27 AM: Message edited by: Dadams1 ]

Which begs the question...can an elephant be...EVIL? [img]graemlins/hehe.gif[/img]

Okay, assuming that "picking up new skills" determines how intelligent you were, we still beat primates, right?

[ 10-14-2004, 11:43 AM: Message edited by: Jaradu ]

<font face="Verdana" size="3" color="#00FF00">Good article here.

The meaning of life?

Life is a highway, that the government doesn't maintain, and everybody walks over. It starts getting potholes, and cracks at about 40, and eventually becomes a dirt road that gets washed away by the rain.</font>

[ 10-14-2004, 12:07 PM: Message edited by: pritchke ]

Wow, if there's a better metaphor, I've yet to hear it. [img]graemlins/thumbsup.gif[/img]

Dude, I love you!

Depending on what your beliefs on life are, you'll have a different opinion of the human race. Personally, since I'm pretty much a nihilist (nothing matters), I believe that humans are the lowest life form, because while we do things to survive, we also do unnecessary things (creating things not directly related to survival), and all we do is destroy. We do not destroy to create; we destroy to destroy. And that, to me, is a lower standard than that of the world's animals. </font>[/QUOTE]Hogwash! If other animals feel threatened by something they will attack and kill it by whatever means at their disposal. They will attack and/or kill anything which invades what they perceive as their claimed territory. Plenty of organism would multiply and wreak havok if left unchecked by competing organisms or environmental limitations. We are unique in the fact that we can create our own environmental conditions to propigate ourselves (build shelters, wear clothing, grow food, etc.). We can augment any of our physical limitations through the use of tools. Unlike other animals, we are intelligent enough to at least try to limit ourselves without the need for competing organisms or environmental limitations.

Watch Monty Python's "The Meaning of Life"

It will help a lot.