Poll: Are we (people) animals?

Yes, I do. You?

By definition then yes but in the practical use of the word then no

Uh, definitions?
In biology, yes, humans are part of the animal kingdom (five kingdoms (used to be two)- animal. plant, fungi, protist, and monera).

In popular use-

  • used to differentiate between humans and other animals- “It’s not a person, for God’s sake, it’s just an animal.”
  • used to differentiate between mammals and other animals- “I’ve got lots of pets- a couple of animals, a bird, a snake, some fish.”
  • a person who behaves in a wild or uncontrolled manner- “Mr Hyde turns into a real animal.”
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Can you please please clarify by “practical use” and “popular use”? And if you feel comfortable explain why thise 2 uses feel we (people) are different than animals.

Im not trolling, i am genuinely trying to wrap my head around the logic some folks think humans are not animals. It seems more and more people are leaning this way and I dont understand why unless its ego based (which includes religion in this situation i think).

The examples given above are almost all an insulting form of the word animal. Assuming its not negative to be one Calling someone an animal is just the wrong use of the word. Some examples perhaps. Retard, fag, bitch, cunt, dick, asshole etc and so many other rude things try to degrade someones worth.

I am not saying i am against insults per se. in fact they are useful tools, sure. However they arent real life implications when asking.someone a direct question without any hostility…like are we animals. on the level of honest mature conversation, a female dog is a bitch much like we are animals. But i notice the same kind of egotistical separation that doesnt seem warranted in the case of animal which i am incredibly curious about. Especially amongst those who think themselves educated, woke or whatever and this egocentric importance still somehow shines through. I am very curious as to how and why one may think we are not animals in a literal sense.

To those, I ask, if not an animal that what are we? Plants, rocks, viruses, gods? This kind of demigod status we ascribe seems to explain a lot of what we are seeing wrong with the world today, and yet we just cant get past our ego. This is the arena i am thinking about with this poll.

May I ask if English is your first language?

Edit : ( wrote this before your expanded response). I’m not trolling either, I’m just trying to wrap my head around the difficulty in comprehension here. I’m pretty sure everyone has observed that humans are part of the animal kingdom.

The fact that we can make that observation -and- have hundreds of languages through which to express it to one another, that any one human is capable of learning any one of those languages, sometimes multiples, and is the only species of anything on this muddy little rock that can do so, suggests that we get to call ourselves whatever we want. We made all the words anyhow.

Regarldess, cellphone keyboards are not even my third language :slight_smile:

Yes these keyboards blow

In English too. An animal is animated.

Yes. Pain is god’s way of reminding us that we are animals.

I just read that recently and have totally spaced on where and who wrote it. btw “god” in this sense is whatever natural forces that bubbled along out of the big bang, gave us space, matter gravity and then time and then allowed for the evolution of the senses to take note of them.

No, bc TL’s definition is off the mark.

Er… That was the point of my comment :grin:

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In this place…who knows? Best to double down!

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Arguably, being an animal and being animated are 2 different animals :slight_smile:

All I’m saying is the etymology of animal in both English and Chinese are rooted in something that moves. Same beast.

Mimosa pudica.

I love that plant! “Shy Little Grass” in Chinese>>English.

I loved it back in Canada when i would spend about $100nt for a 4" pot of this cute little thing that didnt die as easy as a venus fly trap. Come here and have to machete through 2 meter high plants thick as blackberry with equally skin tearing spines…i hate the stuff. I think this is the plant monsanto was having night sweats over that lead to round up. Tomorrow i have 2 acres of the crap to cut down, and in 38 degrees the hate is real.

Sorry, strange rant in an animal thread. Take home point: Plants move too.

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Because they NEED to not because they WANT to. :wink:

Who knows what they want?
Maybe @Explant can give us some light here, given the past of being a plant and all…

Gonna go with “Ones with a brain” here, Alec.

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