Week Two

“All individuals are equal; no other species is equal to humanity,” this quote reached me to higher level of thought because of the power and beliefs it provoked for human beings.  I believe it provoked these emotions because that is how the author made me feel.  Therefore, I feel that this statement by George Kateb from his novel “Human Dignity” is very compelling because it was stimulating and perplexing at the same time.'
 

Furthermore, for others to understand this statement as I did, I broke it down into two proclamations.  The first is that “All individuals are equal” many people can question this thought and have their own opinions, but for me I believe that everyone is equal on this planet.   Therefore, my full belief is that all individuals are equal as human beings and by virtue of the inherent dignity of each human person. No one should then suffer discrimination based on race, color, ethnicity, gender, age, language, sexual orientation, religion, political or other opinion, national, social or geographical origin, disability, property, birth or other status as established by human rights standards. 

All individuals are equal, Can't you tell?

Additionally, the second proclamation is, “No other species is equal to humanity.”  I found this statement confounding and conflicting internally.  It made me feel as a human that I was very high on the hierarchy of planet Earth, but made me feel bad about myself.  I had pride, but no dignity with this second statement.  My belief is that humans are not inferior nor animals are inferior to humans. Animals do not always follow instinct, for example, some dogs have been tamed. As humans, we have been tamed by our society.  If a human was placed on, a desert island with no knowledge of their society could not that person act wild and uncivilized.  For other species that means their instinct was extracted from them as well as many animals we take in our society. In addition, animals can feel pain, despair, and happiness.  Animals can sense when we are good and when we are bad.  They can have judgments and opinions about us. I do believe there are animals that are smarter than some humans are, but most of time we do not see it or acknowledge it.  Because we are human, we see only ourselves, and our dignity in the world that matters. This needs to change.

human = animal or does it?