A Civil Discussion: Evolution, Science, Theology, Atheism, Climate

Darth Omar said:
I’m standing up for the *fact* Man is unique with respect to the other animals.

It’s not an opinion.
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You said before that it was trite to say any mammal or other animal was "unique".

But let's isolate ability to use tools: as others have said, we're just talking about degree and sophistication. Just the ability to use tools isn't "unique."
 
Thing1 said:
You said before that it was trite to say any mammal or other animal was "unique".

But let's isolate ability to use tools: as others have said, we're just talking about degree and sophistication. Just the ability to use tools isn't "unique."
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we contemplate. we philosophize for no physical payback.
we do it because we want to know the nature of the world and universe -pure knowledge
 
Hello anatta,

anatta said:
think Naked Ape.
we have inferior bodies -we cannot long exist as anything but an inferior ape with small populations and wracked disease and famine without using our brains to create an enviornment to not just survive but to thrive.


That ability to thrive means we can create civilizations that are more about ideas then just improving survival rates.
We create human culture for it's own sake, because it gives us a quality of life
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So - before we did all that - back in the mythical garden of eden:

What was it at that point which made humans so special?

Isn't it really just as simple as the fact that some people want to believe in the Bible, so they will twist any discussion around to fit that narrative?
 
anatta said:
we contemplate. we philosophize for no physical payback.
we do it because we want to know the nature of the world and universe -pure knowledge
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A lot of moving goalposts in this thread...but how do you know cetaceans don't contemplate or philosophize?

Are you guys just going to keep searching for criteria until you find one that is undeniable? I think Stretch came closest with "Pizza Huts."
 
ThatOwlWoman said:
loZOmVX.jpg


The artist, a 15-year-old Mollucan cockatoo, calls this piece "Anger of Captivity."​
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Marvelous use of the found object as art.
A statement worthy of note.
He shows great promise.
 
anatta said:
think Naked Ape.
we have inferior bodies -we cannot long exist as anything but an inferior ape with small populations and wracked disease and famine without using our brains to create an enviornment to not just survive but to thrive.


That ability to thrive means we can create civilizations that are more about ideas then just improving survival rates.
We create human culture for it's own sake, because it gives us a quality of life
Click to expand...
Think of this, one of the most important events in human evolution was the discovery of fire and cooking. By using fire to cook foods humans were able to dramatically increase their protein intake and provide their bodies with foods that fueled brain growth. It's amazing to think of it but this one discovery had amazing and vast consequences for our species.
 
anatta said:
complex voice uses, or localized differences in using the enviornment ( like sponges on the bottlenose) are adaptive behaviors.

The fact the adaptations vary in different enviornments does not suggest different "cultures"
it suggest a high ability to adapt within the overall enviornment localized from one area to another.
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But teaching behavior to your offspring is culture and cetaceans and other species do teach behavior to their off-spring. Thus they have culture.
 
PostmodernProphet said:
I am actually a-creational.......I don't care how God created the universe, life, man.......as far as I care he could have done it in 7 billion years or 7 seconds.......I am annoyed, though, of lib'ruls who are stupid enough to believe science has proved things which are in fact not proved and never will be.......I take Genesis 1:1 literally.......in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth......the tense of this verse is actually the imperative......that is "GOD CREATED THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH!!!".....

Genesis 1:2-2:1 is Hebrew poetry.....all Hebrew poetry is signaled by a word translated into English as "Now".....
(2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.)
Hebrew poetry, like English poetry, is not read the same as narrative.....it is not understood literally......When the poet said "the fog crept in on little cat feet" he was not saying fog had paws, though he was communicating something factual about fog.....

I believe there is something very interesting about Genesis 1:2 through 2:1.......first, God created the difference between day and night........what is that difference?......time.......desert nomads knew that time was necessary before all else.....second, God separated the waters from the waters....the above from the below.......forces of nature such as gravity, motion, all those things we call natural laws......day three, water and soil are differentiated........matter comes into existence.....things become things.....
thereafter life, from the simplest form the most complex.....not bad for a people with no concept of science.......
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You really haven't got a leg to stand on when accusing Liberals of believing shit that has been proved when you literally believe in a book written by ignorant men 2000 years ago.
 
Thing1 said:
You said before that it was trite to say any mammal or other animal was "unique".

But let's isolate ability to use tools: as others have said, we're just talking about degree and sophistication. Just the ability to use tools isn't "unique."
Click to expand...

What kind of tools were required for Newton to come up with the Inverse Square Law? Why didn’t the lower animals beat us to it?

It’s not just a matter of tools—and even if it was, the difference in degree of sophistication isn’t something evolution would have predicted. As a species, we could manage quite well with much less brain power.
 
Darth Omar said:
What kind of tools were required for Newton to come up with the Inverse Square Law? Why didn’t the lower animals beat us to it?

It’s not just a matter of tools—and even if it was, the difference in degree of sophistication isn’t something evolution would have predicted. As a species, we could manage quite well with much less brain power.
Click to expand...

Another goalpost move.

The context is "unique." Ability to use tools is not unique.
 
Thing1 said:
Cetaceans are well past that. What you're stating about them isn't correct.
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i'm all up for debate,and don't pretend to know everything -
but if you want to debate please make a point besides "you are wrong".
++

they have complex social systems, and learning abilities -and can pass the behavior along to others by mimic.
What are you claiming otherwise?
 
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