In the introduction, I made clear that this project was meant to bring to light the Purpose of humans as distinct from other animals. Why do we make such a distinction, and if we are to maintain it, how are we to characterize it?
We first begin with our intuitions, false as they may turn out to be. Many feel that humans are a somewhat “special” specie, for various reasons. On one end, some feel we are God’s chosen creation, made in his glorious image. Can’t get much more special than that. On the other end, many consider us to be the worst thing that’s ever happened to this planet. A specie of careless damage, and senseless avarice. No less noteworthy. For good or evil, our presence on this planet is heard, and we have followed a course that no other specie has come near. As much as we may squabble over the reason behind our noteworthy nature, no one can doubt that we are something different. Is this enough of a basis for suggesting our Purpose may be different?
Answering this question could mean asking another: what if there is indeed a link between purpose and Purpose? Remember, we first posed the question (if there is indeed a link) as to whether Purpose helps define purpose, or whether the reverse is true. Either way, a link would hint towards a kind of symbiosis between the two, and the definition of one would lend itself, to some degree, to the other. That is to say from a clear understanding of one kind of “purpose” (either Purpose or purpose), we should be able to know at least something about the other. That being said, if we can determine a strong similarity in general type between a given animal’s purpose and ours, we could potentially infer that our Purposes should reflect that same similarity, to some degree.
Yes, there are many things that we humans do that no other animals do. But there are also many things that some animals do, that others don’t. We must determine if the human activities and goals are of a completely different nature to other animals’, to be able to comfortably assert a difference on a grander scale. That being said, the activities presented in the previous post may do well to call us into doubt. Again, this is all provided we do accept some link between purpose and Purpose, which, although intuitively appealing, has yet to be fully argued for.
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