Human beings are superior to animals

:) Well put! I like how you've re-organized my gloomy rant and made it debatable. Thank you for that. I just want to point something out before we continue. In the link to the Google definition you gave me (which is from the Oxford dictionary if I'm not mistaken) there is another definition. 2. having or showing an overly high opinion of oneself; conceited. "that girl was frightfully superior" I didn't consider this use of the word when I started this debate. In light of this definition, you win. Humans are superior. It also occurs to me, since you're stance is quite literal and exact, and because of the wording I chose for the debate's title, I probably won't be able to prove that humans are not superior to all animals, and therefore, I guess, you also win on that technicality. This will teach me to title thing's better ;P You seem to know what I meant though, so I wonder, if I can produce a good argument that human beings are not superior to all animals and, based upon that, that we should be more humble and respectful of our position in regards to nature and the animal kingdom, will that be sufficient? I hope we can agree that it's basically what we're talking about here. There is another definition for superior that I came across while googling the other day. I can't find the source at the moment but it went like this... Superior - being more important than something else. Do you really believe we are more important than other animals? For now I will address the points you put in bold. 1. There is no concession of burden, we are just as "enslaved" to this planet as any other animal, and by no means do we exist outside the natural construct. I didn't say that or imply it. It is, however, a very common misconception. Though we could if we wanted to, we choose not to utilize symbiosis and/or co-dependency, and therefore we are parasitic to nature (and its animals), and on a scale that is not sustainable and most concerning. In order to be successful as a parasite we need to (a) not kill our host and/or render the host unliveable (thus killing ourselves or, at the very least, making life a complete misery for everyone and everything around us) or (b) we must have the ability to move on to a new host. As close and exciting as it may seem, moving to Mars (escaping this planet in general) is not a viable option yet and (I hope I'm wrong) it might never be. Still, we cannot afford to rely on such eventualities and I don't believe we should. All hail factory farming? Really? ... hmmm ... please enlighten me on what exactly makes it so great. Is it sustainable? Is the produce healthier and of generally "superior" quality to other farming methods? Would you condone dog and cat meat factories I wonder? 2. Even if humans were independent of nature, animals, and ecosystems, which we are not, it does not justify what we are doing to nature, animals and ecosystems. This "status" of ours that you mention is not justifiable or ethically sound. 3. I don't particularly believe in the concept of "evil". I think it's another word that people use to avoid dealing with the dark side of human nature. In my mind there is only (extremely) misguided actions, thoughts and instincts. What I really meant was that our instincts are not actually the root problem, it's the manner in which intelligence has warped them (and us) into something abnormal to nature. I believe that our belief in "superiority" is a direct result of this. It is an inherently misguided concept. Let me put it this way. Human beings are smart enough to create amazing weapons and tools but not smart enough to use them wisely. As I have already stated, we are not the greatest survivors on the planet. If humans could survive a cataclysm on earth that no other animal could, then I might agree that we have superior survival skills. However, we have not yet even proven that this is the case. 4. Stronger survival instinct is does not equal superiority. Actually surviving while simultaneously managing to be better off than all the other animals, is getting there at least, but I don't see that happening. With all we've done and created, amazing as it is, I don't see human beings as currently being better off, on the contrary, we're making our situation worse with every passing day. 5. Based on what evidence? You've already said it. The human population is steadily growing. Over 7 billion people currently live on planet earth and more are born every day. Birth rate exceeding death rate is not a good thing when there is already a state of extreme overpopulation amidst rapidly dwindling resources. If we are struggling with this now, what will it be like in fifty to a hundred years time? Science has not adequately addressed this problem, in fact advanced medicine is making it worse. We frantically (and selfishly) search for ways to escape death. This is just one of the ways in which we "attempt" to remove ourselves from nature's construct, and with dire consequences. Despite my words and tone, I'm not a pessimist. I understand and appreciate your excitement about the progress of technology. I too am greatly excited, and hopeful. What excites me the most is that one day (perhaps very soon) we might create/discover a viable source of renewable, free, clean energy. On that day I might lean towards the notion of mankind as a superior creature., but it will also depend on how we use that power... From a superior creature, I expect to see superior behaviour, not overconfidence and conciet, as the second definition in your link suggests, but behavior of a higher quality.