what really separates us from the lower life forms?

[unclej]

i've heard it said that it's the opposable thumb, our ability to reason, our use of tools, our use of language. i've decided that while all of that is important, our ability to compose, perform and remember music is what really sets us apart from the animals and lower life forms. i've read probably a couple of thousand books in my lifetime and i can remember the plots of a lot of them but i can't really remember the words. but i can remember the words and the melody to literally hundreds and hundreds of songs. and songs are not all simple. many are quite complex and yet we are able to compose them, arrange them, perform them and remember them. i just find that incredible.

anybody care to discuss my theory that it's really music that sets us apart and then to nominate me for my nobel prize?

 

[horny_giraffe]

What about parrots?

 

[WaxNWane]

Interesting thought.

I'm not sure I buy that anything really sets us apart. We have the guns, we can kill anything else, so we get define what makes "higher" life forms. Most successful species around the planet are as evolved as they need to be to succeed in their present environment.

At first thought, you'd need to distinguish our music from things like whale and bird songs. The obvious thing is to say their songs are for communication, but I don't think that goes far enough.

 

[Shiner]

Generally their not registered

 

[Ezarc]

Only man is stupid enough to think of ethics and try to understand right and wrong but still do wrong 99% of the time.

 

[MissTaken]

I wouldn't say the making of music sets us apart.

I might support a theory that the enjoyment of music sets us apart.

Then, I would be wrong.

I think that sex for the sake of pleasure is what really sets us apart.

 

[WaxNWane]

I think that sex for the sake of pleasure is what really sets us apart.

Oh, lots of animals do that. We're the only ones with message boards about it, though.

 

[Lancecastor]

Turgidity is the differentiator.

 

[ksmybuttons]

There is a body of research out there that says if you teach your child music at a young age, they will do better in learning everything else. They are able to use their brains more efficiently. I think the ability to learn and create are the human strength. Therefore, music is a major player in setting us apart from other species.

 

[MissTaken]

Oh, lots of animals do that. We're the only ones with message boards about it, though.

Bingo!

WaxnWane gets the booby prize for the correct answer!

Now, where are the boobies?

 

[unclej]

ok, i'm not giving up my shot at the nobel prize money yet but if we're gonna include parrots then i'm gonna have to go back to the opposable thumb.

waxnwane..you make a good point but our songs would appear to be much more complex and are able to impart not only ideas but emotions and are able to effect the emotions of others. while the mocking bird can mimick 8 to 10 other birds they still can't play the guitar.

 

[WaxNWane]

waxnwane..you make a good point but our songs would appear to be much more complex and are able to impart not only ideas but emotions and are able to effect the emotions of others. while the mocking bird can mimick 8 to 10 other birds they still can't play the guitar.

Again, we get to put importance on complexity. A whale song might say all it needs to say to identify an individual, warn of danger, point the way to food.

The mocking bird can make as many songs as it needs to survive - why would it be a higher life form if it could make more it didn't need?

 

[unclej]

i always knew you were really smart miss taken. now you've proven it but ksmybuttons is the really smart one tonight 'cause she agrees with me.

turgidity doesn't set us apart completely. i understand that sea slugs are all about turgidity.

 

[ksmybuttons]

Please note, Unclej, that I said it is our ability to create that truly sets us apart.

 

[Lasher]

My thought is that the only difference is that we write the definitions.

 

[unclej]

the complexity of our music is important in this discussion. our ability to make our music complex is one of the things that sets us apart. we don't make music for survival like a bird or a whale. we make it, generally, just for the sheer enjoyment of it.

 

[unclej]

i did note that and agree completely.

 

[patient1]

Re: Re: what really separates us from the lower life forms?

Generally their not registered

LOL I love this post . Please tell me that "their" is a sharp sense of wit rather than a spelling error.

 

[WaxNWane]

the complexity of our music is important in this discussion. our ability to make our music complex is one of the things that sets us apart. we don't make music for survival like a bird or a whale. we make it, generally, just for the sheer enjoyment of it.

I'll buy that ours are more complex, but I'm not sure I agree that being able to do something for the enjoyment of it would distinguish one creature as a higher life form than another. Different, sure. You could argue that that animal wasted precious brain power evolving that ability instead of remembering which plants were poison and which weren't.

Lots of non-human animals do other things for enjoyment, so it's possible that there are other animals that sing just for the fun of it, too.

Interesting thread - I'm out for the evening, but I'll look forward to seeing where this goes.

 

[marksgirl]

Finger nail polish........really do you know of any other form of life on earth that paints their nails?

 

[unclej]

thanks for the discussion waxnwane. you make a good arguement.

 

[patient1]

Maybe a mockingbird can't play a guitar, but then neither can I. Come to think of it, I can't fly without an airplane.


I had a biology teacher( a violinist in the local orchestra, too.) that said the only difference between us & lower animals was that we anticipate death.

I like the line from "Taxi"- something like We believe that superstition & pointless ritual are the only things that set us apart from the animals.

Dolphins & bonobos have sex strictly for pleasure, too.

 

[unclej]

now whay didn't i think of finger nail polish. once again i've over complicated things.

 

[MissTaken]

Ya know?

UncleJ may be onto something here.

It isn't just hte making and enjoying of music that might set us apart.

We can perform the same music over and again, enjoying it each time we hear it.

Now, that doesn't mean we are a higher life form. Perhaps we are the least creative of the music makers.

Somehow, I doubt it though.

I still think sex has something to do with it!

 

[Shiner]

Re: Re: Re: what really separates us from the lower life forms?

LOL I love this post . Please tell me that "their" is a sharp sense of wit rather than a spelling error.

I was reffering to trolls but now I'm not sure............Oh hell I give in "MY SPELLING SUCK'S"