Different in degree or kind: animal minds (Introduction)

by David Turell , Thursday, January 07, 2016, 15:23 (3032 days ago) @ dhw

dhw: if you are now going to argue that the balance of nature is required to provide energy for the living, and not just for humans, nature will be “balanced” so long as there is one organism left alive - probably bacteria.-Yes, nature had balance all the way back to Archaea.-> dhw: And so we have now effectively disposed of all the arguments you have used to defend your anthropocentric interpretation of evolution's history: 1) no forms of life beyond bacteria were “required”-True-> dhw: 2) all species (broad sense) are “different in kind”-To some degree if one follows Darwin theory. The giant jump is with human consciousness and intellect.-> dhw: 3) the weaverbird's nest plus a million other innovations, lifestyles and wonders do not and did not serve the purpose of producing/feeding humans through the balance of nature. -No, the balance of nature through all of these contributions supported living organisms with a food supply.-> dhw:This does not mean your God didn't start the process of evolution, and it doesn't even mean that humans aren't special. It just means your divine 3.8-billion-year-old computer programme (and/or personal divine intervention) for all innovations, lifestyles and natural wonders, specially designed for the purpose of “balancing nature” in order to produce/feed humans, makes no sense.-Sorry it makes no sense to you. The induced pain in the nether regions from the picket fence may dull your thought processes.