You may be right that we're just another animal.  But, again, I'm  
simply trying to point out that it is a decidedly modern notion that  
we're *not* the pinnacle of creation.  All hunter gatherer groups  
everywhere have held in common this foundational assumption.

On May 31, 2008, at 12:20 PM, Wayne Wynn wrote:

> Jim Swayze wrote:
> >Agreed that we are *as hunter gatherers* a vital piece of the  
> whole.  But I'd disagree with the idea that we're just another  
> animal.  >Contrary to what we've been taught by cultural  
> anthropologists the last hundred years, humans have always  
> considered themselves the >highest animal.  And we are, having in  
> us as we do the power of reason, hope, and faith.
>
> Maybe you are demonstrating the very point I am making. You say how  
> humans are unique from other species. Remember that that is based  
> on our current knowledge. Also, lots of animals have talents  
> superior to humans and some have what appear to be unique  
> abilities. Rupert Sheldrake has written that our "sixth sense" is  
> more like a seventh because there are organisms that demonstrate  
> something outside our five senses.
>
> Unique qualities are not necessarily superior. But you refer to  
> reason, hope and faith as if they are. Well, humans have done a lot  
> with them, but we might wipe ourselves out, too. The more we learn  
> about our place in the universe, the less significant we appear to be.
>