Summary of Entries on Animals

[lhynard]

I love animals. Anyone who knows me well knows that. I am not an animal rights activist or a vegetarian -- I think humans have worth beyond that of animals -- but I would never kill an animal (I do not consider insects animals,) if I could avoid it. I would never hunt for sport. I would not want to hunt for food

Comments

Re: Very interesting

[lhynard]

What do you mean by soul? You have clearly demonstrated that, using certain perspectives and definitions, one would come to the conclusion that animals have souls. However, that does not lead to the conclusion that animals have souls under every definition of the word.

That is absolutely correct; this is -- in a sense -- a matter of semantics. Yet sometimes semantics are important to discuss....

When I use the words "soul" and "spirit," in regard to religion or the special aspects of humans, I simply mean that part of a person that remains after physical death.And you share that definition with many. What concerns me is that when one looks at the Old and New Testaments in the original languages, it becomes doubtful that this definition is the one used by the Bible. If religion is important, I think it is important to understand what was really meant in the Bible by those terms. I will go into more detail on what I mean by this in a summary I mean to finish this week sometime, but as far as animals go, in the Bible, they are said

Re: Very interesting

[lhynard]

It is my understanding and opinion that it is impossible to test perception, either in people or in animals.

The way they test this in both humans and animals is with mirrors. Human babies do not seem to understand that the face in the mirror is them. They seem to respond as if it is another baby, unable to recognize that the image is of them or they think that the entire perceived world is a part of them, not separate entities.

The same experiments have been done with different animals. Apes and dolphins pass -- they recognize that the image in the mirror is of them; most animals fail.

We can only look at secondary evidence (behaviors) and make guesses based on those sources. No matter how much the behavior is studied, the mental aspects cannot be directly observed.While this is technically true, behavior is very often a clear indicator of thought. It is pretty clear when a baby wants to grab something, for example, because he or she reaches for it. We say he or she wants that thing, even though we cannot read his or her mind

Hello!!

[cxib]

Contact me via e-mail (bleenko@gmail.com).
I have a budding interest in biblical Hebrew bordering on total ignorance
but your bonfire of inspiration is enough to draw me back to it.
I'd like to chat some time about this topic.

Re: Hello!!

[lhynard]

'k

I sent you off an e-mail.