Human nature question

[Disease]

an animal or person close to you, when they die in what ever way it will hurt, other than that it is wallpaper.

[XtRaVa]

I asked a few people this question, and the majority of answers were something along the lines of: "Because a dog is cute and cant defend itself".

Thats fair enough, but then I said to them: "Yeah but a dogs just an animal of low intelligence, wheras a person is a human being, with much more to live for, and think about his family and friends who it will all cause so much pain to".

Then they all realised it made no sense to be more disturbed or upset about the dog. They'd still be more upset to see a dead dog, as would most people, but now they'd have no explanation as to why.

[PR3SSUR3]

Because you cured them of their misplaced compassion?

On the contrary, there is plenty of sense in having more concern for a dead dog - your presumption that a human has more to live for because of greater intelligence tells us that it is more of a loss to the planet if a human dies.

To society, maybe, but then again dogs do not commit mass murder in the name of invisible deities nor rape old grannies because they had no money to hand over to satisfy a crack cocaine habit.

I would rather a complete stranger died than my dog, if given the choice.

[XtRaVa]

Originally posted by PR3SSUR3
Because you cured them of their misplaced compassion?

lol :p Just because they now thought their reason wasnt any better than my reason why they should be upset about a dead human.

Yeah humans can be evil etc, and do horrible things, but that dead person might live his life like a complete angel with no reason to die, and leaving a family in pain etc.

You say you'd rather a stranger die than your dog, thats a bit of a scary statement but of course I understand it. However, would you rather see a stray dog dead, or a stranger? Hopefully you'd rather see a stray dog dead...

[Roderick Usher]

I don't buy the whole "dogs are innocent" line either. Dogs are probably the only onther animal on the planet that has a sense of right and wrong and feels shame.

Don't believe me?

What does the dog do when it pees on the rug or gets into the food or tears up the drapes or smothers the baby?
It hides.
It knows that it did wrong and knows that you will be upset with it before any scolding or discipline occurs.

I've met evil dogs, they're just like evil people - they were abused or neglected in some way that made them hate the world.

[Vodstok]

Animals in general are capable of emotion and motive on some level, and also have some degree of self awareness.

However, i think people's reactions to these situations have more to do with preconcieved ideas about animals and humans than anything else.


Spiders are just as innocent as a cute little sharpei, but they are ugly as sin, so they get the reputation of being bad. plus many have poison.


if people were getting bitten and dying from poisonous sharpeis, public opinion would sway pretty quickly.

[ItsAlive75]

Originally posted by Vodstok
if people were getting bitten and dying from poisonous sharpeis, public opinion would sway pretty quickly.

I would just love to see rats and kittens get trapped in sharpei webs.

[PR3SSUR3]

Dogs are probably the only onther animal on the planet that has a sense of right and wrong and feels shame.

However, domesticated dogs are known to pander to their human superiors in order to get what they want (food, fun, affection etc.) - so that sense of right and wrong is debatable, and is probably down to the obedient instinct that has been forced into the canine for thousands of years. Doing things it gets scolded for means the dog quickly learns to fall into line, or it gets ignored/beaten/starved. Developing a pleasant nature doesn't make a domesticated dog clever - just a survivor on a softer level. If anything, the obedient animal with its human interaction is betraying its true instincts as a greedy pack-hunting beast.

Some argue dogs could be even more shrewd and manipulative than cats, who are fickle and only tend to suck up to their owners in times of need (which is why many say they 'dislike' cats - because they don't make them feel as special and important as dogs do).

[XtRaVa]

Originally posted by Roderick Usher
I don't buy the whole "dogs are innocent" line either. Dogs are probably the only onther animal on the planet that has a sense of right and wrong and feels shame.

Don't believe me?

What does the dog do when it pees on the rug or gets into the food or tears up the drapes or smothers the baby?
It hides.
It knows that it did wrong and knows that you will be upset with it before any scolding or discipline occurs.

I've met evil dogs, they're just like evil people - they were abused or neglected in some way that made them hate the world.

That has some truth in it. However we dont know if the dog is truly ashamed and sorry for what its done when it cowers its head, it could just be scared at getting yelled at, told off etc.

If thats the case, the dog might still want to do those things, but doesnt because then it knows it will get treats rather than told off. Therefore it doesnt necessarily mean the dog is good and not evil does it?

However I do agree with you that some dogs are bad, and most are good, just like humans.

[Haunted]

Pr3ssur3... it may come as a great shock to you, but I completely agree with you.

I believe that human beings are the only animal on the planet capable of being deliberately malignant in terms of good and evil. The great apes (chimps, gorillas, and orangs) may be exceptions in some cases, however.

The only thing that causes, since we're using dogs, dogs to become ruthless killers are nervous diseases. One is rabies, of course. The other is a nervous disorder that develops over time, and is seen through increased aggression. This explains why some dogs suddenly "turn" on their human companions. In essence, these dogs are born with an untreatable mental illness.

The reason I know this about dogs is because when I get a place with enough land I want to get a rottweiler. I want at least one rottweiler to have to chance to grow up as Nature intended for canis familiaris: to be a dog, a ball chasing, butt wagging (They usually clip their tails, because rotties have a tendency to develope cancer in their tails early on), happy, slobbering dog. So, I'm doing a lot of research, because it's sort of like raising a kid, except if a kid bites you, they don't break your arm, even if it's just being a bit too playful.

Oh, and by the way... I, personally think that spiders are beautiful, all eight legged, eight to even ten eyed, glory. Had one crawling on me the other day... Just leveled out my hand, let her climb on and put her some where safe.:D