Quote:
Originally Posted by HowietheGreat  People are the most cruel creatures because we have the ability to understand and acknowledge the results of our actions with empathy and apathy. There is a Hindu scripture that states that there is an observation that life in a rock is life that sleeps, life in a plant is life that feels, life in a animal is life that knows and life in a human is life that knows that it knows. Their cruelty is an example of our need to personify them. Our cruelty is a acknowledged action that led to suffering that we most likely knew would occur and we did it anyway without care. We are capable of more complex logic and reasoning and are thus held at a higher standard. We operate beyond the limits of instinct. |
Thank you so much Howie. This is brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. You may be treading on the rules of this forum a bit by quoting Hindu scripture, but I thank you anyway. The most brilliant part is that the idea of humans being held at a "higher standard" could be used to support any of the arguments here. The only real difference is where you believe that standard should be set.