“I cannot see the short, white curls Upon the forehead of an Ox, But what I see them dripping with That poor thing's blood, and hear the ax; When I see calves and lambs, I see Them led to death; I see no bird Or rabbit cross the open field But what a sudden shot is heard; A shout that tells me men aim true, For death or wound, doth chill me through. W.H. Davies I have been studying the traits and dispositions of the "lower animals" (so called) and contrasting them with the traits and dispositions of man. I find the result humiliating to me.” MenHas BeensWhiteAnimalPoorResultsStudyHeardBloodFieldsCreaturesBirdShotsCrossesAimWoundsTraitsDispositionChillRabbitsForeheadsLambsCurlsHumiliatingDrippingCalvesOpen Fields Author:Mark Twain
“About the book of Job: If it were today, God might be asking "How does DNA carry traits? How are instincts passed on in animals? How does consciousness arise in the human body and brain, and what is consciousness? What is dark matter? How did the big bang happen? Why does the speed of light appear to be absolute? Is cold fusion possible? How do you program a TV remote control?” IfsHumansDoeBookMatterBodyBigsLightMightHappensTodayJobsFunDarkAnimalBrainConsciousnessTvsColdProgramAbsolutesAskingInstinctSpeedAriseTraitsDnaHuman BodyBangsFusionSpeed Of LightDark MatterRemote ControlJust For Fun Author:Brian D. McLaren
“Man is essentially the imitative animal. His whole educabilityand in fact the whole history of civilization depend on this trait, which his strong tendencies to rivalry, jealousy, and acquisitiveness reinforce.” MenWholeFactsStrongAnimalDependsCivilizationTendenciesTraitsRivalry Author:William James
“The characteristic human trait is not awareness but conformity, and the characteristic result is religious warfare. Other animals fight for territory or food; but, uniquely in the animal kingdom, human beings fight for their 'beliefs.' The reason is that beliefs guide behavior, which has evolutionary importance among human beings. But at a time when our behavior may well lead us to extinction, I see no reason to assume we have any awareness at all. We are stubborn, self-destructive conformists. Any other view of our species is just a self-congratulatory delusion.” HumansWellsMaySelfReasonFightingBeliefReligiousHuman BeingsAnimalResultsViewsAwarenessBehaviorImportanceIndependenceAssumingSpeciesGuidesKingdomsCharacteristicsDestructiveDelusionNo ReasonConformityTerritoryTraitsWarfareStubbornExtinctionSelf DestructiveConformistAnimal Kingdom Book:The Lost World Source: The Lost World
“Man is a central creature between the animals, that is to say, the most perfect form, which unites the traits of all in the most complete epitome.” MenFormPerfectAnimalCreaturesTraitsEpitome Author:Johann Gottfried Herder
“The power of understanding symbols, i.e. of regarding everything about a sense-datum as irrelevant except a certain form that it embodies, is the most characteristic mental trait of mankind. It issues in an unconscious, spontaneous process of abstraction, which goes on all the time in the human mind: a process of recognizing the concept in any configuration given to experience, and forming a conception accordingly. That is the real sense of Aristotle's definition of Man as "the rational animal".” MenMindHumansRealFormCertainGivenProcessUnderstandingAnimalIssuesMankindGoes OnConceptsDefinitionsRationalSymbolsDataCharacteristicsUnconsciousHuman MindConceptionTraitsSpontaneousIrrelevantAbstractionRecognizingConfiguration Author:Susanne Katherina Langer