Annoyed when people compare human traits w/animals

39% Normal
52 Comments

Whenever someone mentions a human trait or characteristic and compares it with other animals (i.e. when someone makes a remark along the lines as "dogs are quite like us", etc.), I get quite frustrated. Believe me, I'm quite an animal lover, but it wasn't until recently I began feeling this form of disdain for such remarks. The reasons why are difficult to form into words, but the closest explanation I can come to is because I feel like a unique sentient, and so is every other human being.

So yes, I become depressed and empty when those sort of statements are made around me, even suicidal at times. HELP!

Voting Results
39% Normal
Based on 106 votes (41 yes)
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Comments ( 52 )
  • StrawberryBlossoms87
    15 years ago

    I do not concur with the first comment on this page. Animals ARE able to love. If their able to hurt, be happy, be loyal, or be pissed off and vicious, they are able to love their owners.

    Ya'll need to chill.

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  • Nakkiel
    13 years ago

    You know.. the honey badger is much like a human in that he don't care about your problems.

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  • Drakonski
    13 years ago

    Jeez, if you get depressed and even suicidal just because people may apply a human trait to a dog, then you're not normal. Some people actually enjoy the fact that ALL life on Earth is connected and that, just becuase they're human, they're not above it all. That's why there's so much environmental degradation -- because we're "above it all." Honestly, get help. Oh yeah, humans are animals too! What the hell else could we be? Plants or minerals?

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  • [Old Memory]
    15 years ago

    i can never for the life of me understand why people so willfully ignore the very strong body of evidence that animals have consciousness and emotion.

    do you feel less valuable as a human because you are not so unique in the animal kingdom? That's sad. Get over it.

    Any one who has owned a dog cat or even pet rat knows that animals have emotions, and that they learn things and figure things out and are not guided "instinct" alone. And they are capable of love. Or, if they aren't, then neither are we.

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    • [Old Memory]
      15 years ago

      LOL You need to reassess what I say.

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  • Kiddles9
    10 years ago

    I know this was posted 4 years ago but I just had to comment because no one here seemed to mention it. Human's ARE animals, did that just slip everyone's mind? Human's aren't above animals because we are animals! Common people.

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  • [Old Memory]
    12 years ago

    Fuck you and get over your anthropocentrism cuz humans are not superior to other animals... In my opinion humans are much more stupid than almost all other animals not saying all animals are stupid the human race is just more stupid^^

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  • emilio
    13 years ago

    your obviously f-ed up but RATs are actualy alot like humans. They realy have different personaltiies like humans and stuf. Just get a few rats or sometin so you set your mind on other stuf that those stupid thoughts >.< lol

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  • BlackShadow123
    13 years ago

    When it comes to having a friend to cuddle with, animals are the ones. But when it comes to talking about your problems or going shopping with them, they are not the ones.

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  • brittcr
    14 years ago

    Yes, it's normal.
    Sorry if this is repetitive, but I didn't read all of the posts. This is a common form of speech and is called "Anthropomorphism". (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthropomorphism)
    BTW the opposite is Zoomorphism.
    It also bothers me when people use human attributes to assign an assumed feeling/purpose on to something (an object/animal/phenomenon).
    Regardless of what is actually happening, we are limited in our ability to describe certain behaviors, so we resort to anthropomorphisms...it's just easier.

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  • Malfoy
    14 years ago

    And speaking of jellyfish, their neural nets are only used to detect tactile sensations, and even then, then can not pinpoint the location of the sensation. To call jellyfish conscious is a huge overstatement. Their form of "consciousness" is so primitive that the vast majority of people who actually understood jellyfish would agree that it lacks consciousness.

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  • jesus42
    14 years ago

    holy wow i just realized how long that is
    my main point it in the third part so those who kinda care but not all that much read that part

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  • [Old Memory]
    15 years ago

    wow, so angry when your dogma is questioned.

    yet you say " The form of consciousness WE EXPERIENCE(emphasis added and spelling corrected) is the result of the frontal lobes..."

    look at and examine your own statement and you MIGHT get a clue into your own mental limitations.

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  • [Old Memory]
    15 years ago

    I'm not asking a biologist, i'm asking you. You made a statement, it involves an assumption, and now, when challenged, you make an argument that appeals to authority.

    I think this is more about your lack of consciousness than that of the jellyfish.

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    • [Old Memory]
      15 years ago

      First of all, if you're a nomral, educated, fucntional human being with a general knwoledge of basic biology/zoology, you would realize that jellyfish lack a sophisticated brain altogether. The form of consciousness we expierence is the result of the frontal lobes and other areas of the brain that permit self-awarenes. JELLYSFISH LACK THIS TYPE OF BRAIN, idiot, and thus the areas so necessary for our type of consciousness. Therefore: JELLYFISH LACKING A SOPHISTICATED MAMMALIAN BRAIN = NO TRUE SELF-AWARENESS.

      Basic logic, would you like a crash course in it? Pitiful. -_-

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    • Moonlit_Heart
      15 years ago

      Amen, PooLTOY. Amen.

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      • [Old Memory]
        15 years ago

        Like degrading your status as a unqiue sentient? Fine, go ahead and keep doing so by stating how "animal" we are.

        *Brrr*, it makes me shudder when primitive instincts in humans are brought up. -_-

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        • Moonlit_Heart
          15 years ago

          Yes, I will degrade this insanity they call "stewardship." Separate yourself from the Earth and you will die, my friend. Dust to dust, ashes to ashes.

          It makes ME shudder when people destroy their Earth and don't even realize that what they do to NATURE they do to THEMSELVES. When you ignore your instincts, it means destruction.

          We are not the masters of our own design. We are a part of the grand design.

          Please, overcome your pride and realize that it only hurts us all.

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          • [Old Memory]
            15 years ago

            "It makes ME shudder when people destroy their Earth and don't even realize that what they do to NATURE they do to THEMSELVES. When you ignore your instincts, it means destruction."

            You're missing the point not at all to my surprise. -_-

            I am all for animal rights. I am all for saving our planet.

            Yet when it comes to instincts within ourselves, it makes me feel like vomiting. Why? Perhaps a journey inside my mind would answer all your questions (step inside me and you'll never come out the same).

            "We are not the masters of our own design."

            I disagree to the end. Sorry, but I'm a unique sentient capable of thought transcending the confines of the matrix. End of story.

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            • Moonlit_Heart
              15 years ago

              Yes, I apologize for that little outburst with the environmental movement and such. That was unnecessary, and yes, you never said you were against animal rights and saving the planet. I should have cooled down before I posted...

              I have to ask, however, what makes you question that we are all part of Earth and the universe, aka the grand design? Is it your "uniqueness"?

              Humans have amazing brains. There's no doubt about that. But many animals also have this amazing ability to fly, in the same way we have this amazing mental ability. Salmon have the amazing ability to travel miles and miles back to the very place they were born years and years ago -- isn't that amazing?

              We all have our differences that make us great. We are all connected. Now, tell me, is this bad?

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      • [Old Memory]
        15 years ago

        ty moonlit.

        it will be interesting to see any scientific study classicalman can cite "proving" that jellyfish do not possess consciousness.

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  • buriedalive
    15 years ago

    Tbh, I think that sort of thing varies from animal to animal, it makes no sense to me that of so many different species at least some of them wouldn't share certain human traits.
    I can understand you getting mildly annoyed about it if it's something you feel strongly about, but feeling suicidal about it's not normal. Were you hyperbolising or what? If you were serious, is there anything else going on in your life that could be stressing you out? Sometimes that makes us over-react to the little things.

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    • [Old Memory]
      15 years ago

      You don't understand.

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  • Moonlit_Heart
    15 years ago

    Look, I don't want a debate about jellyfish. Maybe they don't think consciously. But maybe they do. You can't truly know unless you're a jellyfish. So, I think this conversation is pointless.

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    • [Old Memory]
      15 years ago

      Actually, the form of consciousness we experience can be determined through science. So can the jellyfish's lack of thereof. It's all a matter of simply analysis.

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      • [Old Memory]
        15 years ago

        please cite the scientific study that "proves" that jelly fish do not have conciousness.

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        • [Old Memory]
          15 years ago

          LOL Are you serious? It's essentially basic scientific common sense by now that jellyfish lack such. Ask any biologist.

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  • Moonlit_Heart
    15 years ago

    I don't understand this. Humans aren't different from other animals. We all have our unique traits, but we all share some traits. What's the problem?

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    • [Old Memory]
      15 years ago

      Perhaps you should reassess those statements with scrutiny.

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  • Malfoy
    14 years ago

    Quite, quite, quite. Humans are unique because they're way smarter, but animals are not exactly rocks. More like rocks with a few neurons. Holy shit, you guys have no understanding of consciousness.

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    • [Old Memory]
      12 years ago

      would you call it smart to destroy our own place of living and make our life so much harder everyday with everything we develop to make it easier???

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  • Shaka_Zulu
    15 years ago

    I totally agree. dogs & animals can't love. they can't appreciate art. they are driven by instinct. we are driven by free will. it's so ignorant to say animals posess things like trust & love to mentions afew. these are things that are born from reason. an ability animals don't have.

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    • AverageTMcFlannigan
      15 years ago

      You think humans don't let their emotions guide them? Animals and ourselves are worlds apart, but not for that reason. People are quite frequently dumb as rocks and let themselves be guided, trying to avoid real thought at all costs.

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    • spamjaveIin
      15 years ago

      they used to say the same thing about non whites

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      • Moonlit_Heart
        15 years ago

        Haha, good comparison.

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    • bruhjay1
      14 years ago

      yur fucking dumb animals can love and do all thoes things did yu knw yur an animal as well yur a monkey just a more inproved species of a monkey [=

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      • [Old Memory]
        14 years ago

        FAIL. Firstly, I knew that. Secondly, back up your statements. V_V

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    • Moonlit_Heart
      15 years ago

      Animals can love and think and feel. Sometimes other animals are more caring and compassionate than humans.

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      • [Old Memory]
        15 years ago

        Um, okay, can a jellyfish love, think, and feel? No, certainly not in the mammalian sense. As a matter of fact, they merely float and eat. They still deserve respect, but at the same time, your arguments don't take into consideration the amount of differences between us and other animals. Yes, many mammals can display emotions very similar to our own, but primarily in a primitive fashion. Our emotions are complex and ever changing.

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        • Moonlit_Heart
          15 years ago

          I understand that human emotions are more complex, but it's impossible to truly know what goes on in, as you brought up, a jellyfish's mind -- I'll never know, and neither will you. We all came from the same dust, so it's a safe bet that we are very similar in ways we may not even understand yet.

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          • [Old Memory]
            15 years ago

            The race comment was stupid and unwarranted. Plus, science can prove that jellyfish lack a brain capable of conscious thought. What are you basing your arguments on?

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