Human life and animal life

they don't display any endeavors to deal with the issue
- as a gross example, goats in a queue before a butchers slaughter block will have sex while the next in line is getting their throat slit
(compared to humans that have all sorts of things from metaphysical philosophy, religion to medical wards and altruistic endeavours even for other species)

 

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not at all - I claim that bacteria is conscious

I claim that humans too are conscious but they have a higher grade of conscious in comparison to bacteria since they have focuses that cannot be accommodated by bacteria (while bacteria doesn't have focuses that are not accommodated by humans)

consciousness is not required to tally with standards of empirical knowledge any more than gravity is

since I never suggested that an ant is not conscious, I think you have to rework some of your ideas

consciousness refers to life - thus there are only two ultimate options available - dead or alive
but still it is seen that consciousness has focuses according to the body that it is manifested in
for instance the needs, interests and concerns of bacteria can be completely satisfied by meeting its requirements for energy and a few atmospheric conditions (temperature and humidity)
If I was to place you in a wonderfully air conditioned room and supplied you with 5 star meals you would eventually (actually probably quite quickly) go insane.
the reason is that in the human form of life grants a higher grade of consciousness

 

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ok, ok, ok. So humans highly-developed forebrains allow us to meditate extensively on subjects that most other Earth-bound species have barely considered. This evolutionary quirk offers us a survival advantage in some scenarios but not in others, eg it would probably allow us to trick an elephant out of all its money but probably wouldn't help much if the elephant finds out and gets angry.

Are you implying anything beyond pointing out that particular species are different from others?

 

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i am pointing out that consciousness can be graded according to the needs, interests and concerns it exhibits
goats having sex in a slaughterhouse queue indicates one such variety and a person ruminating on what should be done given the nature of absolute mortality in this world is another (at the very least the prospect of having sex while in a slaughterhouse queue would be a very unpalatable proposal except perhaps for the most lowest grade of humans)

 

all species are different, but humans are different from all species.

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Ever seen the photo of the jews standing patiently in line waiting to be shot and thrown into a pit? Maybe the goats were saying goodbye.

But if we accept the dubious proposal that humanity's squeamishness in such scenarios is evidence of a 'higher' consciousness (whatever that is), is that the end of the discussion? Personally I think James is right and that these kinds of conclusions rest on some very anthropocentric value judgements... but if I pretend I agree would you like to develop the theme any further?

 

What, you aren't an animal ?
I know I am :shrug:

 

with or without the slaughterhouse queue, goats seem to behave in the same fashion

death is not something a conscious entity is haphazard about - for instance when the knife begins to work its stuff on the goat's neck, clear and distinct behavior patterns are noticeable (BTW - I only mention this grizzly stuff because many meat stalls through out asia appear like pet shops in the west)

the gradation of consciousness can go further
for instance you can examine the nature of just humans and note gradations of consciousness
even amongst transcendentalists one can note gradations
there are even references to indicate how the consciousness of persons who have surmounted the influence of material illusion can be gradated

variety truly is the spice of life