The God Thread - Page 6

Kant was a major German philsopher who wrote the massive and highly dense treatise "Critique of Pure Reason." If you can read German, go ahead and take a stab at him. He is one of the most difficult philosophers to read and teach in college level courses, but he is worth the struggle. His theories are based on logic and critical thinking (i.e., reason), and above all else, he believed that every human mind operates in the same why (like a machine); he further argued that this machinery does not suffice and is actually problematic when the mind poses extraordinary questions to itself such as the existence of God, immortality, freedom and the universe.

hmmm - nope can't read German. My brother lives in Germany and he can read German. Supposedly - he just got hooked up on the internet. My brother is a follower of Rudolf Steiner who is supposedly an equivalent of our U.S. Edgar Cayce. I have only slightly delved into either one.

Here is a mystery - one that since I was a little boy have asked. "Why are we different than all the other animals on this earth?" Does this Kant have an answer to this?

In answer to your query okcitykid, Aristotle's classification of souls immediately comes to my mind. Kant focused his philosophy on epistemological (the study of knowledge and justification) and aesthetical concerns, so I would have a hard time rendering an answer for you.

I'm not exactly sure what you mean by "different," but Aristotle theorized that all living things contain different souls depending on, of course, what type of being is in question. In other words, Aristotle would answer your question by stating that our differences are defined by our souls.
His definition of soul is pretty simple: it is the principle of life in a body "actually" (living) or "potentially" (fetus, corpse), that is possessive of life.

So, if something has a body that fits into either one of these types, it has a soul. The next step is to figure out which soul category that thing belongs in. Here they are:

Rational soul--has all the characteristics of locomotion, nutrition, perception, imagination and thinking; only humans fit into this category, but as you read on, you may discover that you know a few humans that fit much better in another category!
Passionate soul--uses only locomotion, nutrition, senses, imagination; animals fit here
Vegetative soul--uses only nutrition nd perception; vegetables as well as lower-hierarchal beings such as jellyfish or lobsters fit here

P.S. Cayce's biography, "There is a River" is a wonderful read--he is the one who changed my mind and confirmed my beliefs regarding clairvoyance and other forms of ESP.

different - that is kinda tough. Because supposedly there are some animals that could be considered smarter than us. The elephant has a better memory. The whales and dolphins, we will never master their ability to communicate and navigate. I remember when I was a kid we had a miniature toy poodle. One day we heard a wolf howl. We looked at the dog, we looked at each other, we looked back at the dog. She was fast asleep, we cracked up laughing. We never heard that dog make a noise like that before and we never heard it ever howl like that again. We figure she must of dreamt she was a wolf. From that experience I can guess that animals also dream. And any pet owner will tell you that animals have feelings, emotions, a conscious, they can even make decisions. Yet we are the only animals that can destroy this world and turn around and save it from our own destruction. The only animal that has visited the moon. So how are we different? We're the only animal on this earth who practices religion. And the only animal on this earth who will kill each other over religious beliefs, and it is the dumbest thing that any animal on this earth has and does do.

My mom has read "There is a River" and she is an Edgar Cayce fan. Everything she has learned about him she has told me. I should read that book.

Different souls - that's an interesting theory.

Why do we consider ourselves so special? I think its two reasons:
- we're the only ones who can speak with each other. We will never consider other species as sentient if they can't talk to us (and vice versa I suppose)
- we're the only ones to have done so much with this little tool called intelligence

I'm not sure if the "souls" explanation is nescessary though..
I mean, you could just say that we're different from animals because we think who are different from plants because they feel, right?

Nice reply dumbteen! Animals communicate with each other, alot of their communication may be at levels which we may not realize; pack animals (wolfs, lions, etc) have social structure and pecking order just as we do. They use highten sense awareness to hunt, why would they not use it to communicate? Plants are aware of their surroundings, shade, light, temperature and they form chemical compounds which attract insects which act as go-fors in mating rituals.
Perhaps we should see that we are different doesn't neccessarily mean better?

Plants are better at breathing CO2, we're better an finding ways to kill each other
So, I'd have to disagree different can be better.

It always amazed me - they call it instincts. But what is it really, and how come we don't have - truth is, we probebly do. We just have to find it cluttered in all that knowledge. The other animals, they just have it.

If you ever get the chance to go whale watching, you will be amazed. They follow the same path every year. We don't know how they do. Because we can't do it without SATCOM, or whatever new navagation system we use today. But the whales do it every year.

What calander do the birds use? And how about the bees and and ants. It's amazing, it truly is.

The whales... No idea.
Bee and ants and birds probably use heat as the indicator or might have a fancy biological clock built in.
But it is amazing what evolution has made, I mean who would've thought birds are the dinosaurs of today

Who would believe we were once an ape.

Who would believe we aren't apes anymore?

Dumbteen--I couldn't have said it better myself.

I think I'm being picked on here.

Us and the other animals are different, in our own way however we are all amazing.

The subject was not about evolution, it was about us being different then all the other animals. If you take a walk in the woods you will not find bears driving cars, rabbits watching tv, etc. I suppose that this means nothing to you. You have already determined that this is all due evolution. Let me remind you that evolution is a theory.

If evolution is a thoery you subscribe to. Then let me ask this another way.

Why have Apes evolved into humankind with the ability to walk on the moon?

Why didn't the shark, crocodile or bears evolve? Why did we?

Seeing evolution seems to be so important. I'm making me a new thread.

Okcitykid--I wasn't picking on you. Actually I was being sarcastic and commenting on how a lot of human beings I know actually behave as if they were apes; that is, they sure as heck don't act like "normal" humans. I am in no way trying to talk about apes or animals in general--I am a huge animal lover and would much rather enjoy their company over most people. I absolutely agree that animals are amazing. For the most part, I love animals just for the simple fact that they are not like us!