Do you put humans above other animals?

Number 1, call me speciesist, but I'll always put my fellow humans before any other animal.

 

In theory I don't think we're any better than the animals, but in practice I would be more upset about the people dying. If it was a dog that died, there is where it starts to get tricky. If a dog or little kid dies in a movie, or someone gets raped, I walk out. But if the action hero breaks 100 human necks, I'm fine with it. It's kind of strange how different things effect me differently in media.

I would be very sad if any of those things actually happened though. When I was little I used to cry in history class. Especially when the subject was slavery.

 

humans mostly but sometimes i really get annoyed and stop caring but i really care about animals and i really want to choose 2 ok i would say 55% for #2
and 45% for #1
i just dislike most of the humans sometimes

 

It's certainly a loss for the people who perished, and the OP said a 40-storey apartment block - that is a significant number of people. I just looked up a random 40-storey apartment tower in London with over 1,000 residents - if that building was blown up with all residents inside, then it would be almost as devastating as the 9/11 attacks in terms of fatalities.

I think I feel bad for a person dying more than an animal because people are usually more aware of their fate, and arguably have more to fulfill in life, but I guess I'm biased because I'm a person. If someone put a gun to the head of an animal, or a person, then I would pick the person to live, no questions.

 

well it depends on the person if it was some kind of a stupid criminal like those homophobic killers who wants all gay people to disappear (they are most likely to be in a government what so ever thing)
who really deserves to die i would choose the animal no questions
i think im being over judgemental though :icon_sad:
as for people dying i think that happens everyday in my country and no one cares to do something many buildings have been blown up with people inside btw im talking about countries to do something i know other people cares (*hug*)

 

Anyone that has to think about this can go die in the 40 story and we'll see if the animals give a shit about them.

 

actually dogs do give a shit i know a dog who stayed waiting for his master to return he didn't eat he didn't move he just wait till he died poor dog :tears:
cats are less to care though
though i agree with you most animals wont give a shit about us :icon_sad:

 

Both are equally devastating. I do eat meat, as I wouldn't know how to maintain a diet without it, & it is normal for living species to eat other species, but for some reason, seeing another animal mistreated or injured really gets to me. I'd never be able to go hunting unless I was in survival mode. I know people who go hunting just for fun & don't even make use out of their kills. It's sickening to me.

 

Death isn't a human-only thing. I think we all know that. When an animal dies, even if it's just a bug, the life it led disappears. This life could've included mates, children, entire families, near-deaths, small, silent accomplishments - who knows?

No one cares about the life of a cockroach. They're just disgusting vermin. But they still have a life. And maybe they can have emotions, like us. Maybe they're capable of feeling the complex things we do. And maybe, just maybe, the split second you step on one, it feels betrayed, because it was so convinced that it was living in harmony with you, where you threw away your unneeded trash and it scavenged it for sustenance. Maybe it felt gratitude, even. Maybe, when you weren't looking, it waved its antennae as an unheard thank you, a thank you that you never bothered to acknowledge, because all you're concerned about is how disgusting it is.

And maybe I got a little too carried away. Lol.

But yeah, I think I made my point.

 

If I as a human don't know the other human, their death wouldn't be something that eats me inside, as the same feelings would go for everyone.

Same with animals.

If I knew the humans who died it would be much more devastating to me.

Same goes for animals.

Animals know when they lose someone close to them & they can feel it.

I have two dogs & see how they react when the other one is away.. Such as visiting a doctor or getting a haircut etc. I even see their reactions when they see me after being gone for a bit.

 

I find #1 only slightly worse. I find all life lost very sad, but since we do kill animals for food... I would think people dying is slightly worse.

 

Wow! To the people quoting me - just how many domesticated animals do know that live in the forest?Read the question. I swear people just want to stir up shit. The only dogs dying would be in the same condo that your Nan just fried up in.

I'm sorry if your pet squirrel, deer, skunk, mouse and bear die in the forest.
My dog Willow will be dying with me in the apt along with my wife, daughter and my cat. I won't mind if you don't care to show up at the funeral, you can party with Snow White and Sneezy in your fantasy land.

 

i really think your making a point i regret what i said if it was a building i think its more worth than worrying about a forest
but then again i was talking about human death or animal death i didn't really mention buildings vs forests
btw there are some people who still live in the forest i think so anyway blowing a building or burning a forest is killing living beings animals or humans as they are both existed everywhere

 

Both are so sad, even though I know animals aren't exactly equal to us, well, I feel like in my heart, they are! Animals have gotten me through a lot of my bad days actually... But I would say to definitely save the humans first. We should still do more to protect our animals though! I heard that they actually are killing elephants for jewelry, like seriously, that's so cruel ><

 

As a wildlife rehabillitator I can say that the animals in the forest have all of the capabilities of a domesticated animal. I would be deviatated if my almost ten year old bluejay who is unable to fly died under any circumstances. She isn't a special bluejay, but I've gotten to know her. Other bluejays are just as lovable as her. They just haven't had the chance to show it to a human.
Have you ever had a baby squirrel cry for you? A vulture? Just so you know, American Turkey vultures have social systems almost as complex as a human's. They raise their young as a family, help each other, even have places where they leave an mourn their dead. As someone who you think is out of a fucking fairytale, I can say that they are better than most of the people I know. For fucks sake I have a disabled sparrow who has helped me raise almost every bird I've ever raised. She's almost 12 years old.
The forest animals are not just hunks of meat. They have families. They have love. They can sacrifice themselves for their loved ones.
I am not trying to humanize them to you, but show you that they are not worth less than you because they aren't up to your standards of 'pet'.

 

I tend to value human life more than animal life, but if I knew nobody in the apartment, but my dogs were in the fire, I would definitely be more upset by the fire.

I put humans before other animals, but I find the logic a bit gross when people use it as their justification for killing/exploiting/toying with animals.

I wouldn't kill a kid burning ants, but I wouldn't shy from telling them off sharply (and forcibly stopping them) and wouldn't have any regrets if they were to burn themselves (though they'd have to be tended to, of course).

 

Well sorry, but # 1 by far, I mean please guys.

 

I would definitely choose number 1. I value human life over other animals with one exception. My family comes first, that includes my kids, a dog and 3 cats, and those pets belonging to my other family members.

 

As humans are social animals it is natural to place the well being of your own species above that of others. This would fit with an evolutionary advantage of your survival by ensuring the survival of others in your group.

In your scenario 2 however, you could also consider the environmental damage as well as the loss of animal life to give weight to the argument.

However, back to my first point, yes I would naturally place the value of my own species above another if I had to choose. I suppose the only counter argument I could think of is if scenario 2 had a greater consequence to overall or a much larger amount of human well being than scenario one.

I still stick with humans though.

Happy days

 

I would weigh the lives of faceless nameless humans over the lives of an equivalent number of animals but it would kill me to have to make that choice, and if I knew what some of those people were actually like I might not...

I don't share the casual sort of contempt for animals that some seem to have. I think they deserve greater rights than they're given currently. The idea that "they can't communicate with me, so fuck them" that seems to be showing up in this thread bothers me quite a bit.