4 ms·

If you spend some time, I bet you can think of lots of reasons a creature might return to the same place. Many humans engage in self defeating behavior, should

If you spend some time, I bet you can think of lots of reasons a creature might return to the same place. Many humans engage in self defeating behavior, should they be made into dog food, or should we empathise with them?

JoeAltmaier 7y ago
Without communicating with others to warn them of any danger. So, no dolphin cares about that? If they don't care, should we? I think its pretty cut-and-dried, dolphins are nowhere near as bright as humans.
- codezero 7y ago
  My point is brightness or intelligence shouldn’t be the measuring stick for compassion for living things.
  - JoeAltmaier 7y ago
    Right. But that goes for everything? When are we required to get concerned? Just mammals? All the way to bugs?
    - codezero 7y ago
      There's lots of grey area, and it all ends up being personal preference, but I think if one makes it a goal to always empathize it's a great starting point.
      - JoeAltmaier 7y ago
        Oh yes, the slaughter of dolphins is tragic and wrong. Not because they are our 'brothers', but because they have value as part of the whole ecosystem.
- diveanon 7y ago
  But does that mean they are not intelligent sentient beings? Dolphins do communicate with each other, they use vocal communication and body language. Our failure to understand it doesn't invalidate its existence. They form lifelong familial bonds. They have friends and enemies and form complex social structures. They play regularly and have advanced hunting tactics that require a high degree of coordination. They even take recreational drugs. I have spent a significant amount of time in the water with dolphins throughout my life, and I have developed relationships with dolphins I regularly see that are at the very least as complex as the one you have with the barrista that makes your coffee every day. If the cutoff for intelligence is human intelligence, which human is the standard?

JoeAltmaier 7y ago

Without communicating with others to warn them of any danger. So, no dolphin cares about that? If they don't care, should we? I think its pretty cut-and-dried, dolphins are nowhere near as bright as humans.

codezero 7y ago
My point is brightness or intelligence shouldn’t be the measuring stick for compassion for living things.
- JoeAltmaier 7y ago
  Right. But that goes for everything? When are we required to get concerned? Just mammals? All the way to bugs?
  - codezero 7y ago
    There's lots of grey area, and it all ends up being personal preference, but I think if one makes it a goal to always empathize it's a great starting point.
    - JoeAltmaier 7y ago
      Oh yes, the slaughter of dolphins is tragic and wrong. Not because they are our 'brothers', but because they have value as part of the whole ecosystem.
diveanon 7y ago
But does that mean they are not intelligent sentient beings? Dolphins do communicate with each other, they use vocal communication and body language. Our failure to understand it doesn't invalidate its existence. They form lifelong familial bonds. They have friends and enemies and form complex social structures. They play regularly and have advanced hunting tactics that require a high degree of coordination. They even take recreational drugs. I have spent a significant amount of time in the water with dolphins throughout my life, and I have developed relationships with dolphins I regularly see that are at the very least as complex as the one you have with the barrista that makes your coffee every day. If the cutoff for intelligence is human intelligence, which human is the standard?