[MD] Social level for humans only

[Horse]

  Hi Krim

Not sure I agree here. I think there are human attributes that aren't 
manifest in other species that are totally unique to humans and this 
sets us apart from the rest of the animal kingdom.
I'm talking about music and art. As far as I'm aware no other species on 
the planet has either music or art and, as I said in an earlier post 
some time back, I think this is linked with our intellect and the 
intellectual level. Which in turn are linked to our language ability.
It's one of the reasons that I also agree with David T that intellect, 
and the intellectual level, goes back thousands of years because the 
ability to produce art (or music) is so dependent on having an 
intellectual level. You only have to look at the Lascaux cave paintings 
to realise that intellect was alive and well at least 17000 years ago.

I agree that we are a product of natural selection and that what we do 
is natural (I haven't got much time for the supposed 'supernatural') but 
I don't think it's arrogance to assume that there is something radically 
different about humans that allows us to produce music and art.

Cheers


Horse


On 18/08/2010 04:46, Krimel wrote:
> [Krimel]
> Odd, it seems arrogant to me to assume that much of anything about us is
> radically different than what we see in other species. We are a product of
> natural selection and the same rules apply to us as to every other species.
> Comparing our social manifestations to that of other species, looking at how
> they arise from similar conditions and serve similar functions seems, what
> the word I am looking for... natural.
>
> On the other hand assuming that we are unique seems to me, what's that other
> word... supernatural.
>

-- 

"Without music to decorate it, time is just a bunch of boring production deadlines or dates by which bills must be paid."
— Frank Zappa