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Debate Info

18
12
Yes, they are equal No, they are not equal
Debate Score:30
Arguments:16
Total Votes:32
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Argument Ratio

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 Yes, they are equal (9)
 
 No, they are not equal (7)

Debate Creator

hhioh(454) pic



Are humans and other animals equal?

Should humans have more rights than other animals (i.e. a dog)? Or should they be treated as the same?

If they are equal, do we require animals to pay taxes? But if they are not equal, to what degree are we 'better' than them?

Yes, they are equal

Side Score: 18
VS.

No, they are not equal

Side Score: 12
2 points

Now, how do we measure equal? Are we intellectually superior? Intrinsically more valuable? More powerful?

As far as I can reason, the only criteria for measuring equality would have to be based on the intrinsic value of different beings. Yeah, humans kind of conquered the planet, but only by the grace of evolutionary happenstance. For all we know, dolphins could be as intellectually capable as humans but without the physical ability to develop the kinds of technologies that have allowed us to rise to the top of the food chain.

Here's a question: If aliens arrived on earth and had technology far beyond anything we were capable of, or even if they were so intellectually advanced that they had conscious awareness to a degree we could never fathom (effectively making them gods in comparison to us), would that reality detract from the intrinsic value of our humanity? Is the value of our humanity dependent on reality? Because the reality we experience is not necessarily an objective, true reality. So if these aliens already exist and we just don't know about them, does that make us less valuable by default?

And what if said aliens proclaimed that humans were, in fact, inferior -- worthless even? What then? They're smarter, so does that make it so? Would we accept a fate as slaves to alien master or some bio-resource to be exploited? Or would we fight for our progeny and recognize that the aliens are no better than us and our perceived worthlessness is just circumstantial?

Given these things to consider, I don't think we can definitively say that we are in any value-sense 'above' another species, especially considering that we wouldn't be able to sustain ourselves if we weren't part of an extremely complex ecological network. That network doesn't only include other life, but even physical landforms and forces of nature.

And to deter anyone from pegging me as a 'hippie', which seems to be the go-to term everyone on this site uses to denote anyone who is vaguely liberally minded, I love eating meat. So much so that I've slaughtered yearling calves, chickens, and rabbits to harvest the stuff. And I'm all for violence in appropriate situations. And I will fully indulge in my privileges as a human being while I'm here.

Side: Yes, they are equal
2 points

Yes. Too vague of a question really. Are we animals? Yes. Do animals go on trial? No. Should we however mercilessly slaughter them? No.

Side: Yes, they are equal
2 points

"Animal: any of a kingdom (Animalia) of living things including many-celled organisms and often many of the single-celled ones (as protozoans) that typically differ from plants in having cells without cellulose walls, in lacking chlorophyll and the capacity for photosynthesis, in requiring more complex food materials (as proteins), in being organized to a greater degree of complexity, and in having the capacity for spontaneous movement and rapid motor responses to stimulation."

So according to the dictionary we are animals.

It's been biologically proven. The fact that we are smarter than most animals doesn't mean anything.

For example, eliphants have better long-term memory than we have, does that make them any different then? Would you refrain yourself from calling the eliphant an animal?

Those making the arguement that our capabillity of loving one another is what sets us apart from other animals are wrong too. Penguins and other birds for example stay monogamous their whole lives. They choose one mate very carefully and then stick with that one mate. Most humans aren't even capable of accomplishing that much.

We think too much of ourselves when we compare ourselves to other species.

Side: Yes, they are equal
2 points

Agreed. "A living organism that feeds on organic matter, typically having specialized sense organs and nervous system and able to respond rapidly to stimuli." We are animals.

Excellent example:

Squares are rectangles, but rectangles are not squares.

Side: Yes, they are equal
2 points

"In his influential 1986 essay, "All Animals are Equal", philosopher Peter Singer outlines the philosophical underpinnings of the kind of sentiment expressed by Newkirk. When we reflect, for example, on human social justice movements, we notice that one thing that underlies and connects these movements is a belief that, in an important and profound sense, all humans are equal. This belief, the principle of equality, is the key to making sense of Newkirk's statement. But what does it really mean to say that all humans are equal? Given that humans differ from each other so significantly in their physical, moral, emotional, and cognitive abilities and capacities, surely, as a descriptive empirical assertion, claims of human equality in this sense are clearly factually untrue. But the principle of equality is not intended as a fully factual but rather as a normative concept. In this sense, equality is not a description but rather a prescription of how we should treat human beings. The primary empirical claim grounding the principle of equality is the fact that human beings are experiential subjects; that is, there is a “what-it’s-like” to be human, experiences philosophers refer to as qualia. Put in simpler terms, human beings are sentient."

Side: Yes, they are equal
2 points

Just because humans were granted more physical and emotional capabilities or traits, doesn't make them superior to animals. In my opinion, animals are superior to humans. Without humans, the earth would thrive. Without animals, the ecosystem would collapse plunging us all into an apocalypse of some sort. For example, the value of animals like, bees, bats, plankton, primates, and butterflies could be worth millions of dollars, due to the reason, they don't only contribute to our ecosystem but mankind also depends on them, while the economic value of many people are negative (they consume more than they contribute from/to society over their life time).

Side: Yes, they are equal
3 points

Well, purely from an intellectual perspective, humans are the "smartest" of the creatures we know the existence of (I don't want to debate God's existence right now), higher memory capacity, higher order thinking (through the enlarged prefrontal cortex other animals lack mostly), etc.

From a biological perspective, we have no direct relation to them in terms of a food chain (some asian cultures aside), so we could be considered "equals" in that sense.

But obviously from a societal view, we see humans as superior to all beings. As I believe with most views, our opinions are subjective, but they are based upon an inherent selfishness that drives the majority of our actions. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, it is just a fact of life.

Should they have more rights? No. This is a societal issue, and dogs are not contributing members of society, nor are they, in a purist sense, even members of society (dog owners may disagree, but their opinions are clearly biased).

They obviously can't pay taxes until they have equal representation in our elected government. And since I don't see dogs running for congress anytime soon I think we can dismiss that idea.

Side: No, they are not equal

This is silly...humans are a completely different race of creatures from other animals. Other animals don't bother including humans into their societies, so on the level you mentioned, as far as having animals paying taxes, we're obviously not equal. Also, humans are hundreds of times smarter than almost all animals. We've evolved much further than they have, so we're obviously not equals.

I do believe, in the spiritual sense, as in we can all live together in harmony, that we are equal. But that is all.

Side: No, they are not equal
Phreekshow(246) Disputed
3 points

LOL! Spoken like someone who is NO expert on animals. I have worked with and trained animals for years. From pets to zoo animals and I will disagree on their level of intelligence. We are discovering much much more on animal intelligence and are finding that species of monkeys apes and even parrots have intelligence far more advancd than once thought. BTW humans are animals themselves. We need all the same basic things to exsist as all other animals. Food, water, shelter love etc.

Side: Yes, they are equal
hhioh(454) Disputed
1 point

How much more equal would you say they are? How many lives of a dog are equal to a humans?

Side: Yes, they are equal
2 points

Rights stem from responsibilities. What responsibilities does an orangutan, or a gazelle have?

Side: No, they are not equal
1 point

I am better than a dog, than a cat, and than a pig, propter homo sum (though I'm sure a cat might have something to say about that, were it only able). Were I a dog, than I would be better than other species, propter canis sum. One does not see a lion suffer from a moral dilemma before, whilst, or after having killed a human, but cannibalism committed by one lion against another is exceptionally rare. It is only natural that we hold in highest regard our own kind, just as other species hold in highest regard those of their own kind.

Side: No, they are not equal
1 point

No. I find it almost an insult to compare human life to something like an ant. Although I can say that animals can have more compassion towards one another than most people towards each other so I guess in that way they are greater than us. But intellectually we win. Physically it depends...

Side: No, they are not equal
1 point

Based on intelligence, abilities, and adaption we are not equals. But just because we are not equals does not mean we should treat them poorly, animals are still living things and should be treated with respect. Remember, you can tell alot from a man in how he treats those below him.

Side: No, they are not equal

Animals cannot think and they cannot rationalize, therefore, they are not equal to humans.

Side: No, they are not equal