According to this recent article, some scientists are now trying to get dolphins recognized as "non-human persons," potentially revolutionizing the way we view other species. Link: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/s ... 973994.ece
Thoughts?
Dolphins as Non-human persons
11 posts in this topic.
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That's stupid. If you're going to call any animal a non-human person it should be chimps.
Didn't God try to make a difference between animals and people? Scientists shouldn't try to mess with that. -
I agree with Bookmarker - to an extent. God did make a difference between animals and people, that man should be their master and take care of them and live from them. Don't get me wrong; I am a devoute Christian. It's just that, as a animal-fancier, I've researched a few things.
There are indeed some animals that have near-human characteristics - chimps (and apes in general) are (almost) physical copies of a man; dolphins and apes also share emotions between members of their kind, as a human family would; they also have a higher-level brain function than other animals, enabling them to work out elementary-level problems. Yes, there are similiarities, but they will never be human.
It's my understanding that God meant for it to be that way. -
I'd like to point out that this article says that dolphins should be classified as "non human persons" which does not make them human.
About the chimps: Their brains are smaller than dolphins, and they're at about the cognitive level of a human three year old.
Dolphins not only have their own language, but they also use tools, form family groups, and show almost all of the behavioral characteristics of humans. What makes them different? I mean seriously, think about it. These scientists are not "messing with" what species are classified as humans. They are merely tryng to get protections against dolphin killing.
Is that really so "stupid"?
Lupis
P.S. I'm not saying that I whole-heartedly agree with this article, but I feel that both sides of this issue should be presented.
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Well they shouldn't say non-human PERSONS because thats the same as calling them people. There are really MILLIONS of differences between dolphins and humans!
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No, the term "human" refers to someone of the species Homeo sapiens. A "person" is one who is sentient, caring, and has a sense of self, but is not necessarily human.
This in no way suggests than dolphins are the same as people--far from it.
And like I said before, these scientists are not saying that dolphins are exactly the same as people--that would be ridiculous. They are just trying to point out that dolphins have a right to be treated as intelligent, sentient beings and not objects of entertainment, food, etc.
Obviously, you are entitled to your opinion, and I respect that. I was intenting this to be a discussion, not a debate.Still, I hope this clarifies a few things.
Lupis -
I give up!
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It's okay to have your opinion, but be open to others'. Otherwise, you're just a selfish brat throwing a tantrum.
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Gee, thanks.
I never said I wasn't open to others' opinions, and I'm sorry if that's the way my posts came off. I was only trying to explain my own feelings on this topic, and clarify the different terms we were using, since there seemed to be confusion and I was trying to understand where you both stood.
But, hey, if you're not open to my opinion, why should I be open to yours? And since when did name-calling become ok? Geez, this is turning into a flame-war! * sigh * -
Yeah. Gee thanks.
When was I not open to someone else's opinion? -
Forgive me.
I guess this entire thread is overwhelmed with misunderstandings. But here are some posts you made that made me assume you were being stubborn and close-minded (sorry, canis, I missed that last line in your last post, about the opinions entitlement
) :Bookmarker wrote:Well they shouldn't say non-human PERSONS because thats the same as calling them people. There are really MILLIONS of differences between dolphins and humans!
Bookmarker wrote:I give up!
And this being in writing, emotions are not present in the text. We can only take and comprehend what we read based on context clues.
So, I do apologize for being snappy and accusatory.
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