Are animals superior to humans ?

[Cosmin_Visan]

Given that spiritual people say that language is a delusion and it only takes you away from truth, does this mean that animals are superior to humans ?

[Gesundheit]

Pre-trans fallacy; http://www.interchangecounseling.com/blog/somatics-and-the-pre-trans-fallacy/

[snowyowl]

Which spiritual people say that? IMO language is an abstraction, a map, a very useful one at that. The delusion part is when you mistake the map for the territory, the abstraction for the actuality. There's no superior/inferior when we compare humans vs animals, we are all evolved to be good at 'doing our thing'. An eagle can't think like us but it can fly by itself and has got better eyesight than me  

Edit - Really there's no distinction anyway, humans are a type of animal, otherwise we start to think we're separate from nature. 

Edited November 26, 2020 by snowyowl

[Blackhawk]

No.

Maybe this thread should get locked.

[Rilles]

Define superior. Can a human fly? Nope. Can a dog write a book? No. Which is more important?

[Cosmin_Visan]

1 hour ago, Rilles said:

Define superior. Can a human fly? Nope. Can a dog write a book? No. Which is more important?

Superior = higher complexity. And this in principle can be a measurable term. And language functions towards creating more complex states of consciousness, including the creation of complex visual qualia. If nobody taught you all sorts of objects names, you would not even be able to see them. So the meme that "language has nothing to do with consciousness" is so false. Language is very important in the very creation of qualia, so in advancing consciousness.

[Rilles]

38 minutes ago, Cosmin_Visan said:

Superior = higher complexity. And this in principle can be a measurable term. And language functions towards creating more complex states of consciousness, including the creation of complex visual qualia. If nobody taught you all sorts of objects names, you would not even be able to see them. So the meme that "language has nothing to do with consciousness" is so false. Language is very important in the very creation of qualia, so in advancing consciousness.

What makes a dog less complex?

See you moved the goalpost. Superior and complex are not the same. You couldve asked is a human more complex than a dog. 

If the human race creates a nuclear bomb or spreads a virus that kills us all will you see as superior? 

Edited November 26, 2020 by Rilles

[Mvrs]

2 hours ago, Rilles said:

Define superior. Can a human fly? Nope. Can a dog write a book? No. Which is more important?

Truth

[Someone here]

@Cosmin_Visan I think they are. Given that no animal would ask such a useless question. You know they only care about what is really important. This means they are quite intelligent. 

[LastThursday]

1 hour ago, Cosmin_Visan said:

If nobody taught you all sorts of objects names, you would not even be able to see them.

Granted, you wouldn't see a chair without having a concept of one. But before you learnt the language concept "chair" I'm sure you sat on one - so there was something there, even if it wasn't identified as a chair. So qualia are "prior" to concepts. But I agree some qualia are the results of concepts.

In general for those interested: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linguistic_relativity

[UnbornTao]

@Cosmin_Visan Superior = meaning. We invent and apply meaning to many things. However, it is not inherent in the objects themselves.

 Your question is based on a false assumption.

Edited November 27, 2020 by Arzola

[Jaka Pirs Hanzic]

"There is nothing either superior or inferior but thinking makes it so." - William Shakespeare remix

[No Self]