Humans are the most intelligent beings on the earth. We alone control the world and how it works, all other animals are just there for us to control. This is unfortunately how some people view the world we live it, but what makes us any better than a dog, or a pig? We believe that because animals do not communicate in the same way as we do, and because they have not built and designed new technologies and cities that they are inferior to us. Animals have their own way of communication that we can not understand, but is it any different from us not being able to understand Chinese, or Swedish? Some may argue that this is different because we can learn different languages, but is it not also true that we can understand our own pets and other animals through their body language if we try? Animals have shown that they can understand us in the same way, and although they do not communicate in the same way as us they can still `talk` to each other in their own way.
Being an `animal` is often used as a derogatory term against somebody who is acting untoward or nasty, but who is it that declares war after war on each other? We who hate, discriminate and kill, often for the most petty reasons. Animals kill to survive, it is very rare to see animals kill for any other reason. While we kill, torture and abuse to satisfy our cruel ideals animals are doing it for the sole reason that they need to do it to live.
"Man had always assumed that he was more intelligent than dolphins because he had achieved so much... the wheel, New York, wars, and so on, whilst all the dolphins had ever done was muck about in the water having a good time. But conversely the dolphins believed themselves to be more intelligent than man for precisely the same reasons." This quote from the Hitchhiker`s guide to the galaxy goes to show that intelligence can not be as easily defined as we believe, while we may believe that we are more intelligent due to how we have advanced technologically animals have also advanced in their own ways, they are constantly adapting to their own environments and evolving to survive as effectively as they can, they have the intelligence to cope with their ever changing environment (which is changing due to human interference). If we were to be placed in an environment, such as that of the mountain gorilla and had to survive without any of our new technologies our intelligence would be challenged, whereas if a mountain gorilla was placed in our environment it is more than likely that they would manage due to a conveniently easy access to food that we have created. This just goes to show that maybe our intelligence has led us into a world of laziness and convenience which could one day backfire if we were forced to live without all that we have designed, while animals can easily adapt to change we may not be able to do so. Is this ability to adapt not a form of intelligence in itself?
While it is impossible to say who is more intelligent between humans and animals we must also remember that we ourselves are only animals, we have just separated ourselves from them because we believe we are greater. The fact that we are still animals should show that we are just the same as them, and if we are more intelligent why are we not using this intelligence to help them survive instead of using it to destroy their habitats and other people?
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