Animal Paper

Animals are all around us, but humans always consider themselves superior. We, as humans, seem to think that animals are just there for our purposes, and we aren’t equivalent. But why is this? One of the reasons we believe that we’re superior is because of Genesis Chapter One. In Genesis Chapter one, verse 26, it states “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.” After reading this, people believe that God made animals for our purposes. We are the rulers of all animals, as they are only there for us. In Genesis chapter one verse 28, God states “And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.”Basically, God is saying that we as humans should multiply and take advantage of everything the earth has to offer. That means taking advantage of the fish in the sea, the fowl in the air, the cattle on the ground, and everything that“creeps”upon the earth. So if someone was to read the bible, what would make them think that we were equivalent to animals? Certainly not Genesis chapter one verse 26 and 28. Unlike Genesis, the scientific classification states that humans and animals are all the same because we are all part of the web. On the scientific classification chart, humans are the homosepiansepains (the wise humans). But since humans are in the same chart as animals, and we all came from the same place, that means we are all connected. We all divided from Eukargate, which means in some way we are all the same. Different from what Genesis tells you, isn’t it?
The next two theories that separate humans and animals are we share 95% of our time with other humans, and we perform “non-animal” tasks. According to the first theory, we spend so much time with other humans that we like to think we’re superior to other animals. We go to school with other humans, we work with other humans, and we basically spend all of our time surrounded by humans. Even though a lot of people have pets, we don’t spend a lot of time with other animals. We also perform “non-animal” tasks, such as reading, writing, and watching TV, to name a few. Animals don’t read, write, or watch TV, and that separates us from them.

The last two theories that separate humans from animals are evolution that leads us to the kings of creation, and Descartes & dualism. According to evolution, chimps evolved into humans so that humans could create the world as we know it. First, Humans evolved from animals, and after that, we created the world as we know it. We are the “kings” of creation because practically everything in the world is manmade. As stated by the creation of myth, “the According to Rene Decart, we are different from animals because we can think. He thinks that our bodies are not what matters; it’s our mind that matters. To him, “we are not our bodies, we are minds inhibiting bodies”. He argues that even if we didn’t have our human body, we would still be able to live because we can use our mind to think. According to Decart, animals cannot think, and this separates them from us humans. A sub theory of this sixth theory is that of the immortal soul. The souls of humans go to heaven, while people are not sure what happens to the souls of animals. Do they go to heaven also? Considering the fact that we go to heaven, it is thought that we are superior.

Even though we don’t believe that we are animals, there are benefits to actually being an animal. Once we understand these benefits, we can connect to animals on a deeper level and stop believing that we are superior. One of the benefits of being an animal is giving birth without the use of machines and drugs. Animals give birth without use of any machines or pain killers; they do it the natural way. But we as humans use machines in hospitals, we ask doctors to give us pain killers, and we take all types of drugs just so we don’t have to feel the pain. By giving birth the natural way, we can connect to animals. The second benefit to knowing that we are animals is knowing that the body matters. Animals prioritize their bodies, and they also prioritize the physical. They know how to treat their bodies in a way that makes sure their healthy. Unlike us humans, who don’t take good care of our bodies as much as animals do. The third benefit is knowing the proper role of thinking. Humans tend to over analyze everything, while animals just live in the moment. We are always thinking about what is right and wrong. Humans also use their memory more than animals do. We are so use to doing the same thing every day that it’s committed to our memory. If we need to go somewhere, such as school, we know how to because we do it every day. It’s committed to our memory. We don’t need to think about how we are going to get to school, we just automatically do it. However, animals think about what they are going to do. If they are stalking their prey, they plan out how they are going to kill them. It’s not routine for them, its skill. Another example is when animals play dead. They do it to protect themselves from other animals, and they don’t over think the role of playing dead. If humans were to play dead, we would over think it too much. In order for us to imagine that we are unconscious, we have to use our conscious. The only time we can really be unconscious is when we are sleeping, and even then, we have dreams. Dreams are a way for the unconscious to talk to the subconscious. This proves that humans are always thinking. The last benefit of knowing we are animals is that we understand there are no such things as special rescues. A special rescue is when we believe that we are going to get rescued by someone. Humans don’t believe they are going to be extinct like animals do because we believe in special rescue. Humans believe that we are going to be around forever because we are superior, and someone is looking out for us. However, just like other animals, we too will become extinct.

I think that by knowing we are animals, it is easier for us to connect to nature. We like to believe that we are superior because it makes us feel better about ourselves. It means we control the earth and everything on it. But when looking at all the trouble humans caused on earth, it makes you realize that animals live a better life then we do. Humans are the cause of global warming, and animals are affected by this. If people understood that we too are animals, we would treat them with more respect than we do. Some people like to believe that animals don’t have rights just because they are animals. But they do. I agree with some of the benefits with knowing we’re animals, such as prioritizing the body and knowing the proper role of thinking. I find sometimes that I abuse my body, because I'm not as healthy as animals are. I don’t eat the proper kind of food, while animals know what is good for them. I also think that by knowing the proper role of thinking, we can stop stressing everything and just live in the moment. I noticed that I tend to over think everything, and that I don’t live in the moment enough. Animals don’t over think, they just do. However, I don’t want to give birth the way animals do, the natural way. I know that I can’t take pain, and the way everyone talks about birth, it seems to be very painful. I don’t want to come off snobby or anything, but I would prefer to be in a hospital bed with people who know what they are doing when I am giving birth. I also know that humans will go extinct soon, but I prefer not to think about it. I put that fact in the back of my mind the way people put the fact that they are going to die sooner or later in the back of their mind. It’s just something I don’t want to think about.

By knowing that we are animals, we can further connect with nature. We can also appreciate animals more, instead of just taking advantage of them in the way we do.