Humans ARE Animals

FINAL REBUTTALS"..How are we different? ..I believe I have already answered that.."Actually, NO, you haven't!!!Everything you have offered can be seen in other animals! I have even given and offered actual video documentation refuting every claim you have made!The reason why this is important is because, then, these aren't sufficient ideas to support humans to be separate or distinct - or as you have said, "..we have evolved past animals.." You are also now back-tracking by saying that, "..I have never stated we are superior to animals.." Yet, you previously listed that you thought human intelligence and morality to be more evolved.You are clearly contradicting yourself here on this point.And, if this is true, then you haven't secured an adequate example of how humans are different from the rest of the animal kingdom. We have already established that:Its not intelligence - A raven can solve an 8 step problem solving test. As can a octopus.Its not moral behavior - We observe premoral sentiments and accountability systems in social animals. Koko the Gorilla has described experience as "good" and "happy" or as "Bad' and "sad". Many anthropologist, neuro-scientists, and philosophers believe these are the beginnings of an understanding of Good & Evil.Its not tool use or technologies - Chimps, elephants, ravens, can all be seen using tools.Its not religious behavior - Premodern humans ritualistically buried their dead in religious ways.Its not language - Koko the Gorilla uses over 1,000 sign words comprehensively. Dolphins and whale song is said to be more complex than human language in many respects.Its not the ability to create great works of art - The example given show elephants creating great works of art. Chimps have been taught to paint as well.Its not the ability to murder - Chimps wage war and murder.Its not the ability to farm - Ants farm fungus and raise and domesticate aphids for food source production.Its not the ability to rape or have sex - Dolphins rape and have sex simply for pleasure.Its not the ability to get high and do drugs - All sorts of animals get drunk and high as referenced.Its not beliefs or a rejection of instincts - Humans have the same instincts (sex, food, etc.). The fact that humans choose to forgo certain instinctive impulses can't really be used to separate from other animals. Animals will refuse to eat if a food source is contaminated for instance.Its not altruism or empathy - It is common knowledge that we observe altruism in nature. Again, we believe these premoral sentiments are related to ethics.Many believe that empathy is the driving force of altruistic acts in nature (vise-versa).Its not ideas of life after death - Again, Premodern humans ritualistically buried their dead in religious ways. Animals can be observed mourning the death of a family member.These are ALL observed by other animals and/or occur naturally in nature!Post DebateCon & voters, I'm happy to include additional video documentation and sources in the Comment section, even post-debate, if you or anyone would like to pursue ANY of Con's suggestions.If anyone feels I didn't address or refute something Con mentioned - please reference it in the Comments and I will address it.Closing Thoughts for ConTake the two examples of empathy and religious behaviors:Con, why do you NOT believe that empathy would be observed in nature? Animals (chimps) can wage war for no apparent reason and even murder - yet you think that traits like compassion and empathy would be void? Why would Koko the Gorilla literally cry when her cat was killed?Early burials indicate that pre-modern humans buried their dead in a ritualistic way - indicating that they more than likely harbored beliefs about an after life or a realm to come (why else would they include tools or bones or their dogs?). These types of burials can be observed in other pre-modern hominid species besides homo sapiens sapiens, Cromagnons and Neanderthals for example.Cave art in the caves of France can be dated back to over 30,000 years. This art indicates insights and belief systems and ritual.Summary of RebuttalsCon, at best, even if you take the position that human beings are the pinnacle of certain animal attributes, maybe even superior in some ways, superiority of an attribute isn't the same thing as being separate or distinct or more evolved (however you would now try to word humans as more than animals).In other words, even if human art is more complex (for example), art then isn't an example that distinguishes or makes humans more than animals. It would only indicate that we are simply maybe better at it - not no longer animals.You offered the idea, "..Compare the painting by the elephant to a painting by Davinci.." Below is a painting by Mark Rothko. David Rockefeller, Sr. sold this painting to Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani in 2007 for 74.9 million dollars, one of the top auction art paintings ever (basically, at the time, one of the most expensive pieces of art ever bought and sold). Here it is juxtaposed above another example of an elephant self-portrait painting. I ask you - which is more complex? PHILOSOPHY OF THE HUMAN ANIMALDebating the topic of whether or not human beings are animals IS a philosophical debate because it is also inadvertently asking what it means to be a human being.What does it mean to be a human being?I believe, in this debate, I have convincing demonstrated that the Human animal is in fact an animal and that the supposed special characteristics of the human species - what we often cite as our humanness (assumed to be uniquely human) is an illusion.Human beings may have landed on the moon - but its by using the pinnacle of very same intelligence already found and evolved in nature.ConclusionHumans ARE Animals.Closing StatementI will not try to sway the voters in closing remarks.I simply ask that DDO's voting guidelines be followed.Con, please remember the debate's format. No new arguments in this final round - though you may give final rebuttals and analysis.Thank You.