<p>Word of advice, mice are smelly, like all pets, and they reproduce like the dickens. My brother and I started with three and ended up with twelve before we gave the smellies away.</p>
<p>I agree that a deer is a more vital role of the food chain/web, but on a universal scale, a deer and a bacterium are both mind-bendingly minuscule and thus of little value.</p>
<p>What do you mean by “important”? A deer is more important to humans because they are closer to us, physically, mentally, etc. and we feel compassion/a cross-species connection with them. No organism is /inherently/ “more important” than another because that characteristic is defined by humans. Were there no humans, there would be no such quality/classification of importance or lackthereof.</p>
<p>Of course, being humans, we do assign values. More life is more important than less life. The rest of the people in the world, as a total, are more important than I am. There has to be a line drawn somewhere to make values judgments in these situations. And there still exists the need for ecological balance. Ecologically speaking, humans are unnecessary, a luxury, a frill. But humans will still always view themselves as most important.</p>
<p>I’d only have one, one little tiny one like the one that found its way in my house the other day. It was about an inch long, exclusive of the tail, and jumpy and fast and sweet. I can’t imagine one tiny mouse could make too much smell, and it wouldn’t be too hard to take care of…</p>
<p>On a universal scale, solid matter in general is mind-bendingly minuscule. Let’s keep it to an earthly scale so something is relevant at all.</p>
<p>“No organism is /inherently/ “more important” than another because that characteristic is defined by humans. Were there no humans, there would be no such quality/classification of importance or lackthereof.”
That’s exactly what I meant, but you say it so more eloquently. (:</p>
<p>“The rest of the people in the world, as a total, are more important than I am. There has to be a line drawn somewhere to make values judgments in these situations.”
I don’t understand why this is considered true? How can you prove that one life is of less value than two people, or ten people, or a million people?
I agree that if I had to choose between me being killed or the entirety of humanity, I would take the dive, but the reason I would do it isn’t because i think that their lives are more valuable than mine but because I would be content with the fact that someone would eventually/does feel the feelings that I felt while I was alive, which for some reason would make me happy.</p>
<p>and wow ok your animal friendly cira. but you never know how smelly they are till your gagging on the stench.</p>
<p>i think in gonna go down for a nap people. talk actively and prosper.</p>
<p>Not really. I have a cat which I really don’t like at all because it produces vast quantities of smelly waste and also sheds all over things and is generally unclean. I just think a mouse, because it’s a lot tinier and much cuter, would be easier to deal with and more satisfying than a cat who hates you and everything you know and love.</p>
<p>I’m gonna go eat a muffin and listen to some gangsta rap. </p>
<p>Now discuss among yourselves which one of these statements is false. (:</p>
<p>Muffins= definitely too manly for our Donny.</p>
<p>I don’t want to go into the biological/behaviorist aspect of psychology because I know how everyone seems to hate me for it, but our ultimate (purely biological–not emotional/cognitive) goal as human beings in the survival of the species. That is the only reason we exist. Assuming that no amount of human life is more/less important than any other would not only result in total individualism/isolationism (ergo, the death of the species)…but would make human existence meaningless. From there, I can build into an existential case and determine that we should all commit suicide.</p>
<p>Okay, not really. But to offer oneself up for sacrifice, should the event arise, is integral to our biological, chemical, emotional, and social motivations and existence. Obviously you’re more of an individualist/humanist (you believe we have a choice) but I’m obviously not…I think it comes down to your theory of psychology (or one of those social studies subjects…). I also believe I side-stepped your question. Yay me.</p>
<p>EDIT: Maybe your final statement, suggesting that one of the statements is false, is false…</p>
<p>I sensed that everyone has abandoned me. It’s an interesting social phenomenon: when one person flees, everybody flees. There was some psychological term for it…I forget what it was; I suppose I shall have to look it up again. Until later, peace out all.</p>
<p>It’s a real mind****, right? (:
Speaking on what you said, wow. That’s really my first impression. I agree that we are animals and as animals, our “purpose” is to proliferate our species. I lion doesn’t ask why it’s making babies, it just does. What makes humans exempt from biological drives? Some would argue that since we are the dominant species of Earth, we should be more elevated than other animals and try to evolve pass our carnal instincts, but these people have put humanity on a false pedestal. We are no better than the squirrel, only smarter.</p>
<p>Has anyone heard of Nietzsche’s Ubermensch? It’s his idea of what humanity is progressing to. He believes that we will eventually “evolve” to become strictly logical beings that’s ole concern is “advancement.” Look it up on wikipedia, it’s much more detailed explanation and is very pertinent to this discussion.</p>
<p>so which was false donny?</p>
<p>To anyone who cares, I ate the muffin.</p>
<p>Or did I? What has changed between the time that I ate the muffin and when the muffin was still uneaten? It’s still energy, it’s just simply changed form. From this we can conclude that all of life is inconsequential.</p>
<p>I hope everyone realized that this is satire of myself. (:</p>
<p>i love anberlin.
i hate the uncertainty of life.</p>
<p>and your so complex donny.</p>
<p>No idea what anberlin is.
If life was certain, it would also be predictable, and if it were predictable, then it wouldn’t be worth living.</p>
<p>And I far from complex.</p>
<p>monotomy has it’s good sides. like a comfy rut.
anberlin is a band. i love them lots.</p>
<p>No, you must rise up against the soul-crushing powers of monotony! Do not go quietly into the night, rage against the darkness! Stand and live your life! It cannot and should not be put on pause for rest from the wearies of the tribulations of existence!</p>
<p>Now let’s go watch some Gilmore Girls!
(:</p>
<p>Oh, Donny. You are quite the individual.</p>
<p>I think I say “Oh” too much.</p>
<p>I’m all talk, I mean, right now I’m at my computer listening to music and surfing the internet. I’m hardly living life to the fullest. (:</p>