Homo Sapiens...the exceptional and sensational specie?

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   A.Villarasaposted 11 years ago

   EXCEPTIONAL--- a word that humanists, of all colors and stripes, unreservedly applies to Homo Sapiens. However, in  the  atheist's  world, Homo Sapiens is neither exceptional, nor for that matter---sensational, despite  ample evidence to the contrary. So what gives?
   
   Is it because in the process of denying the existence of a Sublime Creator, atheists would rather not be caught  dead mystifying  the creation of Homo Sapiens?

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      A Troubled Manposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Doesn't your religion tell us we are all worthless evil sinners? Doesn't your religion deny the existence of altruism and compassion each human being possesses?

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         A.Villarasaposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         @ATM:
         My religion does nothing of the sort you are saying it does. I must tell you this...your  anti-religionist ranting is  paradigmatic and reflective of  the total flaccidity/ fatuity  of atheistic thinking.

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            A Troubled Manposted 11 years agoin reply to this

            No, you don't have to tell me that.
            
            So, what does your religion say about human beings? Can you show me in your scriptures where the words "exceptional and sensational" describe us?

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               A.Villarasaposted 11 years agoin reply to this

               @ATM:
               
               Doesn't  the statement: :" God created man in his own image" enough to convince you that   humans are indeed exceptional and sensatioal?

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                  A Troubled Manposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                  Ah, thanks for clarifying that and confirming no such words are in scriptures describing humans and that this thread was yet another fabrication from thin air, with the intention to start fights with atheists.
                  
                  Will you also continue to stand by your denial that humans are sinners according to your religion?

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                     A.Villarasaposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                     @ATM
                     "...intention to start fights with atheists" is hardly my reason for posting this specific topic on the forum section. Now a debate would be more appropriate, but  unhappily, your idea of a debate is you hurling indeterminate, inchoate, malformed, and misinformed statements.

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                        A Troubled Manposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                        There's no other reason why you would post false information targeting atheists other than to start a fight. That's obvious.

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                        Rad Manposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                        You want to debate, but anyone who disagrees with you are hurling indeterminate, inchoate, malformed, and misinformed statements.
                        
                        Some debate.

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                           A.Villarasaposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                           If you think ATM's post is worth my engaging him in a debate... you are sadly mistaken.

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                              A Troubled Manposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                              Since, the OP has already been exposed as fabricated nonsense, there's nothing to debate.

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                                 A.Villarasaposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                                 You're in your ranting mode again ATM

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      Paul K Francisposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I find all life exceptional. We may be the most exceptional of the bunch with our ability to understand and wonder, and perhaps there is more exceptionality down the road; a more exceptional us. Advanced technologies alone will not bring this about; it can only happen when we finally learn how to be at peace with one another. Have a nice day.

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         A.Villarasaposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         When man's ego is finally tamed, then that's the time to talk about "peace with one another". Thus for humanity  peace could only be a pipe-dream unless we go back to the once enviable uncomplicated/unencumbered sense of self-esteem  that once pervaded and ruled  our psyche.

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   wildernessposted 11 years ago

   Personally I find nearly ALL animals exceptional in some way or another.  The eagle with it's eyesight, the polar bears smell, the sea turtle's immune system, the elk's hearing, the shark's extra senses, the electric eel's ability to biologically create electricity, etc.  Most species have something that makes them better than any other animal.  Even humans, who have an intelligence apparently unequaled by any other animal.
   
   Do you disagree?  Is not the eagle exceptional for it's vastly superior eyesight?  Does not the human have a sensational intelligence, superior to any other animal?

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      Rad Manposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I guess if we define intelligence as in only human intelligence (IQ tests) then we can say humans have superior intelligence to other animals. But some whales and dolphins may find our geographical awareness and communication rather lacking.
      
      Crap, we are not even evolved enough to have sonar (echolocation).
      
      Crap, my dog has a better understanding of both human and dog body language.
      
      Crap, I walk behind my dog waiting for him to poop so I can pick it up.
      
      Crap, the bowhead whale lives for 211 years. They hit the evolutionary jackpot.

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         A.Villarasaposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         @radman
         
         Your post just reinforced my assertion that atheistic extrapolation and interpretation is flaccid and fatuous.

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            Rad Manposted 11 years agoin reply to this

            Your post just reinforced my assertion that theistic extrapolation and interpretation is flaccid and fatuous.
            
            Notice how meaningless that sentence was?

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         wildernessposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         "Even humans, who have an intelligence apparently unequaled by any other animal."
         
         I did use that term specifically because we can't measure the intelligence of a different species.  I would say that man was the only one smart enough to learn to use fire, but either dolphins OR whales might (appropriately) point out that environment just might have a bearing on that.

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      A.Villarasaposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      @wilderness
      I fully agree with you're  saying specially the last sentence.
      
      When it comes to creationary/evolutionary imposition specialization is the ultimate goal or result, thus the eagle with the superior eyesight, the polar bear with superior olfactory function, or the human with the sensational cerebral capacity. Is human intelligence purely/solely due to random events in their evolutionay cycle? I doubt it.

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         A Troubled Manposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         I would agree with you, but of course, evolution is not about random events.

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         wildernessposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         There is no indication to the contrary, any more than there is to the number of ofactory receptors in the bears nose or the "design" of the eagle's eye (and yes, I've read the nonsense about "irreducible complexity" of the eye).
         
         So there is no more reason to find humans exceptional than there is any other animal.  You can certainly doubt as you see fit, but there is no reason to do so.

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   Emile Rposted 11 years ago

   I scratch my head when atheists go on about how unexceptional we are.  Can the eagle see as far as a man can see with a telescope? I doubt a whale or a dolphin would be unimpressed with our GPS, or communication systems.
   
   Crap, a bat would give money for our sonar capabilities.
   
   Crap, we understand dog language better than dogs understand ours.
   
   I will say, rad man's dog probably thinks he is higher inn the pack than raff man is. I would, if the guy was waiting to clean up after me.
   
   Yep. We are uniquely unique. Anyone who thinks otherwise is ignoring the obvious. Imo.

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      Rad Manposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      HA Ha ha ha hah. Thanks Emile, that's why I love you.

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      Paul K Francisposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      The eagle, the bat, and the dolphin may be making fun at us that we have to invent things they already have, yet on the other hand, we are able to create things that mimic the talents of multiple living wonders, including flight, and the ability to travel on and below the surface of the sea, just to mention a few. This is truly exceptional. And I really think that dogs do understand what we are saying; they just don't give a ...crap - 'blah, blah, blah; shut up and feed me'!     Crap... I gotta go. Have a nice day.

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         A.Villarasaposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         @Paul:
         Our creativity is what  has made us exceptional, in all fields of sentient endeavours, and it is this creativity that will ultimately "slign-shot" us to our destiny of unraveling the mysteries of the universe. None of the other earthly sentient beings come close. Now atheists may continue to downplay our achievements, but I suppose they are just being true to their utter  mendacity to all things physical and material. Creativity, someone more attuned than I reminded me years ago,  has spiritual  and  ethereal underpinnings.

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            Rad Manposted 11 years agoin reply to this

            You are over estimating our creativity. This coming from a professional artist should tell you something. Very few human ever show any creativity, what makes us humans exceptional and successful is our ability to share the creativity when it does happen. If we were unable to share creativity we would still have people in search of the perfect wheel. You type on a computer you bought from someone willing to share that creativity for a price.
            
            The vast majority of us live our entire lives without ever having a creative thought. I know something about creativity, I spend my day being creative on a computer I bought with software and fonts I bought and sometimes fonts I created using software I bought from inspiration and photos that sometimes I buy and sometimes photos I take using the camera I bought.

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               A.Villarasaposted 11 years agoin reply to this

               Good for you that you have a creativist soul. Now granted that some if not most of the rest of humanity  jusr were not blessed with the same creative predisposition  that you  have. It does not mean that  they are not living their lives creatively... in their  efforts to survive the mundane  and the grind of daily living.

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                  Rad Manposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                  I suppose you are correct in that inventing an all powerful loving creator in your mind to help you through life can be seen as creativity.

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                     A.Villarasaposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                     Of course.

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   Zelkiiroposted 11 years ago

   Aside from being the (likely) most intelligent animal on the planet, what advantageous traits do humans have, again?
   
   Physical strength? LOL. A cow is more powerful, by far. Let's not even try to compare ourselves to horses, bison, wolves, or tigers, because it would just be embarrassing.
   
   Physical ability? Are you high? We can barely walk efficiently, let alone run, jump, swim, or climb. Humans are wobbly and awkward and the exact opposite of dexterous.
   
   Good reproduction? Nope, unless women have somehow managed to birth thousands of children at once since I last checked. Insects and fish have us beat by a long shot.
   
   Our longevity? Well, we do fairly well here, but we're still beaten out by tortoises and jellyfish and waterbears.
   
   Defense mechanisms? Let me put it this way: No human has ever won a fist fight with a bear. Unless your name is Takamura and you exist in a work of fiction. Case closed.

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      Rad Manposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Every animal has unique qualities that help it survive within it's environment. Humans are no different, we've made some sacrifices for our active brain, for instance we need to eat often because of the energy out always active brains use.
      
      But what make us successful is our ability to share ideas with one another. I'd be hard pressed to build a house or car or a computer on my own, so I paid others with money I made with doing what I'm good at for the things that keep me warm and safe.

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      wildernessposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Careful there - over the long haul there are few animals a human cannot outrun.  A horse, for instance, stands no chance over a 50 mile run.

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         Rad Manposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         The problem is very few humans can still run 50 miles.
         
         I funny that we admire the sprinters in sports when human sprinter can't compare to most animals, but our ability to sweat can have us chase down animals until they give up from heat exhaustion.

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            wildernessposted 11 years agoin reply to this

            Odd, isn't it?

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               Emile Rposted 11 years agoin reply to this

               Odd? Or exceptional and sensational.

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                  Rad Manposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                  It is exceptional, but what is odd is we value the sprinters in sports more then the endurance athletes. How many of us know the name of the best marathon runner?

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                     Emile Rposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                     Um, we know the sprinters because it's over fast. We don't get aside tracked between the start and end if the race. Who wants to sit around and watch a whole marathon?

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                        Rad Manposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                        People sit around and watch an entire football, or baseball game.

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                           Emile Rposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                           Well, I never understood the baseball thing. Too slow. Football though is another thing entirely. It's pretty fast paced. Definitely,  not  a marathon.

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                              wildernessposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                              Maybe we could loose a lion or bear at the marathoners ever few minutes, albeit on a random schedule..  Let it take just one, though - not  a half dozen runners.  Keep the excitement up without running out of marathoners.
                              
                              Might have a little trouble with unscrupulous producers looking for ratings, though...

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                                 Rad Manposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                                 Sure but I bet you'd get some fast times. Don't need to outrun the bear, just the other runners.

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                                    wildernessposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                                    But outrunning the bear should be easier.  At least if you're not caught in the first few seconds...

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                  wildernessposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                  Odd that we fawn over the sprinters which are mediocre at best (amongst all animals) and ignore the marathoners that are the best in the world.

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      A.Villarasaposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      @Zelkiero:
      And yet despite all our perceived weaknesses, humans have dominated and continues to dominate earth, ever since our hominid precursors started to be creative in terms of being able to adjust, (fast and furious, in cosmic time)  to the  evolutionary demands that  mother nature  have imposed on us.

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         Rad Manposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         Please remember that there are still parasites, viruses and other animals that feed upon us and we are out numbered by a great many creature. Why are so many Christians so arrogant?

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            A.Villarasaposted 11 years agoin reply to this

            bwahaha... so sound like a child  lost and drowning in a sea of sorrow. i could not imagine how you survived so long with all those nasty creatures ready to pounce on you till you die a slow and agonizing death.

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               Rad Manposted 11 years agoin reply to this

               My cousins' 7 year old just passed away from leukaemia. A rather painful experience even with morphine. How does that fit into your perfect universe made just for us?

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                  A.Villarasaposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                  The universe  unfortunately  is   not all glory and  joyful excitation.  And to conclude that  it  is unfit for  human  consideration and habitation, because  human suffering occurs is just delusion on a grand scale.

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                     Rad Manposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                     It's not my claim the earth is unfit for humans, I believe it was your claim that it was made for humans, I'm simply showing you that that's not the case. Humans are treated no differently than any other creature on the planet. So special rules or safeguards for us.

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                        A.Villarasaposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                        I agree that there are no special rules or safeguards for us. As I said humans might be the only specie on earth that could sel-terminate their existence, via multiple atomic  fireballs.

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                     wildernessposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                     It sure isn't all glory.  The large majority of the earth IS unfit for human habitation, and while humans to inhabit perhaps 20% of the planet, much of that is hostile enough that humans never develop their potential without help from people from environments more suitable for human development. 
                     
                     The deserts of the near east, the frozen poles, the top of mountain ranges, the jungles of the equator; none have produced much beyond survival.  Humans do best in a pretty narrow range of temperatures, food, air, etc.

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                        Rad Manposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                        With about 70% of the earths surface being water and about 96% of the earths water being in the oceans, I think we can safely say the earth was designed for whales.

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                           wildernessposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                           I believe you will find more tons of plankton than anything else. 
                           
                           Whatever it might be, though, it is pretty obvious it wasn't designed for man.

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                              Rad Manposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                              Right, plankton put in abundance for the consumption of whales.

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         wildernessposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         Yes, we dominate the land (not so much air or especially sea) and have done so for around 10,000 years.
         
         Compared to the shark, who has been master of it's habitat for 400,000,000 years that isn't saying so much.  Even the Crocodile, at 200,000,000 years, has dominated it's environment for 20,000 times as long as man.

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            A.Villarasaposted 11 years agoin reply to this

            It is saying a lot that humans do have the capability and capacity to eradicate the shark's existence into kingdom come,,, and yet have not done so. What does that say about the precariousness of  existence. T rex and his ilks dominated the earth for millions of years, and in one clean swoop, mother nature "decided " to end their existence... giving mammals (including our specie)  their chance to dominate.
            
            Humans despite their exceptionalism or maybe because of it, may become the only specie that  could self-terminate... in multiple atomic explosions.

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               wildernessposted 11 years agoin reply to this

               I don't think man could eradicate the shark if he tried.  Not, at least, without destroying the ability of the oceans to support life.
               
               Yep - Big Mama Nature kicked 'em off the planet for good.  And could do so for the upstart "Man" anytime she wants to.

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      A.Villarasaposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      @Zelkiiro:
      
      Case closed? I'm sorry to say this but your post just does not make a case, any more than a slug/snail could make a case that he is the fastest animal on earth.

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