I wonder if we will ever know the answer to that question. I mean, as humans we can relate our experiences, but how will we ever discover the perspective of animals? With a direct ability to understand, is it possible. And what of proxy indicator, will they yield any objectivity in so far as our ability to comprehend it?
There are numerous reports here on RG regarding the levels of consciousness. This is the ocre of the question asked by Kirk. First, I would like to include plants, too. Second, the experience and the expression of life, i.e. liveliness in humans and animals are not the same - due to very reason of life, namely biodiversity.
Literature does not report about to equal experience of life (or death). Each poem, each novel, each shrt-sroty is unique - provided that are good (= great literature).
The question is quite sensitive, the anew, though, is plural and complex.
No !!!!! For animals including us the necessities are a must !!!
Now, what makes us , "us" is we have a "I" that needs /wants more .
Human life has a profound purpose, which is to serve God and care for the animals. Animals don't have such task. Yet, we must co-exist peacefully with the animal kingdom in our cosmos.
I wonder if we will ever know the answer to that question. I mean, as humans we can relate our experiences, but how will we ever discover the perspective of animals? With a direct ability to understand, is it possible. And what of proxy indicator, will they yield any objectivity in so far as our ability to comprehend it?
Whoever lives with animals and do not treat them brutally will agree with me that the meaning of animal's life is the same as humans. People say that man lives to worship God. So, let us understand that animals are not able to worship, but that they are a wonderful manifestation of life.
Vilemar Magalhaes
Dear Kirk MacGregor , you have raized an interesting and debatable issue and let me start agreeing with Dr. Vilemar Magalhaes
Without animals or plants we would not have existed so from this we can draw the conclusion that we are all as equals. Yes we have evolved to be more intelligent just as other animals have evolved to adapt to the environments they live in. We may be more intelligent and have more influence over the earth but this is not what determines importance as importance is defined as "the state or fact of being of great significance or value." quote from Google. From this we can conclude that we are of no greater value than any other animal. What if a chicken were to evolve into something more intelligent and powerful than us ? Would it then be more important, just because we have the ability and potential to do something doesn't mean we use it, we still rape, murder kill, lie, and decisive one another for reasons such as personal gain, which end up being detrimental to ourselves and other, as we all know that if we were to work as a community we could accomplish so much more.
So to conclude Yes we are Powerful and intelligent, but at the end of the day we could not exist without other living organisms, animals or plants so, they must be more important if they keep us alive, and for those who want to argue that we keep them alive, which in some cases is true then it about balances it self out to be equal.
If you want argue the point of how we are more important then I suggest you come up with a theory of how we could exist or have come into existence without any animals or plants.
https://www.quora.com/Is-the-meaning-of-life-the-same-for-animals-and-humans
The question is complex. Do all people understand the meaning of life? Perhaps some, and maybe in different ways.
Do we know what animal think about life? Well, perhaps they can think, see the question of Marcel M. Lambrechts about that: https://www.researchgate.net/post/Do_you_think_that_animals_think_and_if_so_why_or_how?
But what they think about it, we do not know. In any case, I think that animals are more robust in the sense that they always obey some instincts, like strive to survive and to produce offspring. Contrary to them, we observe the phenomenon of suicide in humans and they tend to produce less or no children in the last decades, especially in more developed countries.
Animals and humans are similar at lower level needs like food and shelter.
The meaning of life among us humans compared to higher non-human animals is probably very similar or close; mainly due to the degree of awareness and self-referential capacity between each of the species.
Both animals, human and non-human, are part of nature and live with it, they are intelligent, they have feelings and thoughts; but since we do not have ample capacity to communicate with them, the experimental and practical evidences with the coexistence between and with them (terrestrial and aquatic mammals and birds) indicate to us that some meaning has life for them.
I agree with Dr. Govender and Bro. Adom that humans are higher version of animals. Human beings are rational and take responsibilities which include caring for animal. Nation geography series has several documentaries on the animal kingdom which exposes how animals live their lives and understand their own language like humans; however, the difference is the rationalities of the human race.
Hello,
Surely, both animals and humans are part of the divine creation. However, the meaning of life is not the same for them mainly because animals act and react based on instinctive forces, while humans' interaction with the environment is purposive . Humans use their logic and wisdom to cope with the conditions surrounding them.
Best regards,
R. Biria
No, I do not think so. I believe animals do not posses the higher levels of looking at life such as quality of life, objectives, purpose of life, religion etc
We have ask the question to every species of animal to get real answer.
All other answers will be assumptive, biased for human and so will not be a real answer.
No. Animals do not have a soul. Here, much depends on whether to consider this question in religion aspekt or not.
The meaning of human and animal life is not the same because of the psychological and cultural superstructure of men. But the right to the existence of men and animals is the same.
Dear Kirk. You posed one great question. If we could somehow measure the workings of the brain in animals, we could be much closer to answering your question. It seems that for animals the basic level needs and instincts tend to have much more importance.
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