A higher being?

What if a higher being were to come to earth and enslave the human race? What if their intelligence far surpasses that of any human being? Will they treat us like how we treat animal, perform experiments on us, make us go extinct?
Right now, we are the top animal on the food chain no doubt, but what if that were to change? These other animals would be able to do what ever they want with us. Our weapons might be virtually powerless and they would be able to do cruel experiments with us. Perhaps they would do cruel experiments to determine vaccines and cures on us.  We would become the animals and they would become our masters. They would determine what is right and wrong. They might not be able to communicate with us and not know if we have feelings or not. The tables would have completely turned, and the only thing we could do is pray that they go gentle on us.
Is this what animals feel like? Do they have feelings and pray that they will be okay? There are many studies that show animals have intelligence and a sense of individualism like in Rifkin's article "A change of Hearts". They probably do have a sense of individualism but that won't stop humans from doing experiments on them. I agree with the experiments that involve trying to find a cure, but one day we may be the test subjects.

Do animals deserve the same rights?

In Jeremy Rifkin's article "A Change of Heart about Animals," Rifkin discusses how animals are more like us than we have ever imagined. In the article, he briefly mentions the how two New Caledonian crows were able to take a piece of unreachable meat with pieces of wire that one of the birds fashioned into hooks and also mentions how elephants are able to mourn for their deceased kin. Animals may truly be more like us but should we still give them the same basic rights that we have? They may be able to understand several thousand English words and human sign language like Koko the gorilla does, but that does not justify them to have the same basic rights as humans. While I do believe that animals should be treated properly by others, I still think we should give animals rights to a certain extent. I would say that they should not be put on the same pedestal that humans are on because if we gave animals the same rights as us, then that would mean that they have the right to trial and the right to social security. Obviously, animals can't do anything with rights like those so it would be ridiculous to give them the same rights that humans have.

Where should we draw the line?

Where should we draw the line in doing research and experimentations on animals? I disagree with Ed Yong, because I don’t think that we should stop doing experiments on animals because what would we experiment on? I agree with De Waal that we should continue to do animal experimentations, but I don’t think that it should be noninvasive because we won’t be able to make advancements in the medical field and find cures if we don’t experiment on animals. However, I don’t think that we should be testing make-up or anything like that on them. I think that we should only do experiments that will help scientists find a cure or will make a positive difference in human medicine.

Still Hooked

I was especially intrigued with the article “Hooked on a Myth” by Victoria Braithwaite. She shared her opinion on the myth of whether or not fish feel pain. She said that we should adopt a precautionary ethical approach and assume that fish do suffer. In my AP Environmental Science class we have been trying to keep five fish alive in an ecosystem column we built. I cannot help but notice how indifferent I am to the sight of a dying or dead fish. When I was younger I had a couple of fish I really cared for and every time I saw their little orange bodies floating at the top of the water, I would bawl my eyes out. I was so aware and sensitive to how fish felt. I considered their life equal to my life as a child. Even though I do acknowledge that fish suffer and are affected by pain, I am not so sure whether they can “feel” it. On the other hand, I have a nine year old cat that I completely identify as an amazing “conscious” being with human-like emotions and feelings. I know when she is suffering from the sight of the bottom of her food bowl and her loneliness is palpable when there is no one with an open lap for her. I guess I do exempt fish from the standards I have for other animals. It was strange for me to think about animals, like fish, being conscious in the way humans are. Braithwaite says that we don’t even know for sure what it means to be conscious ourselves so how can we expect to detect it in a fish? Sometimes I make conclusions too fast and believe things too readily. It is easy to accept information as fact as soon as it is shared with me, especially in a world of modernization and advanced technology. I need to embrace deep-thinking and the act of pondering because I do too much fact-finding and one right-answer questioning in my day. Yesterday, I am happy to say, I got hooked on a myth.

AF: Winter Blogging

Written by E. Phinizy, and swiped by A. Fletcher :)

It's that time again: Time to take our discussion online.  For this round you need to initiate one discussion and comment on two.  Remember to refer to the texts as sources as well as that which keeps your ideas focused.

Procrastination will not work this time, gang.  You've got to start earlier on your entries.  I cannot envision the alternative as even "basically fine" participation.  There is nothing genuine about a discussion when most of the members arrive with five minutes left.

Also, the rules netiquette apply; so, keep the flamewars and trolling to yourself.


The texts:

• Braithwaite, Victoria. “Hooked on a Myth: Do Fish Feel Pain?” Los Angeles Times 8 Oct. 2006: M5. Print.
   
• Edlund, John R. “Letters to the Editor in Response to ‘A Change of Heart About Animals.’” 2003. Print.

• Edlund, John R. “Three Ways to Persuade.” 2011. Print.
   
• Rifkin, Jeremy. “A Change of Heart About Animals.” Editorial. Los Angeles Times 1 Sept. 2003: B15. Print
   
• Yong, Ed. “Of Primates and Personhood: Will According Rights and ‘Dignity’ to Nonhuman Organisms Halt Research?” Seed. Seed Magazine, 12 Dec. 2008. Web. 24 Jul. 2012.

A Change of Heart about Animals

When reading this article I felt a change of heart about animals. I never took into the consideration how animals have the same emotions as us humans do. When thinking about emotions, I only looked at the emotions us humans feel such as love, anxiety, depression, affection and so on. "They feel pain, suffer, and experience stress, affection, excitement and even love." This statement shows pathos, stating how animals do feel emotions just as humans do. Animals in my opinion, do have such feelings, causing them to demonstrate them in certain ways. Some say that animals are not self aware, but I completely disagree. I believe you can see when an animal is in pain, or happy. I do notice such things every day with my pets. I do not think it is fair that we neglect many animals, or mistreat them for our benefit. Hopefully we can find better ways of showing animals love and affection.

AF: Roger Ebert and his wife, Chaz