Save the Fluffies. Animal Rights gets panned.

[Richard F Hall]

In article <36789EA9.56C79D80 at cornell.edu> The Lord Of Lemmings <amg39 at cornell.edu> writes:
>From: The Lord Of Lemmings <amg39 at cornell.edu>
>Subject: Re: Save the Fluffies
>Date: Thu, 17 Dec 1998 01:03:22 -0500

The Lord Of Lemmings wrote:
>Just because those individuals call themselves Animal Rights activists,
>doesn't mean that all individuals who call themselves Animal Rights activists
>agree with or support their actions.
Never could words be more true, whether they apply to Christians 
who do unloving things, cops that do crime, or philosophers that 
do not study science.  There will always be room for those who 
care to speak on the behalf of other species. For instance:

It has been conjectured by some that LOGIC is distinctly human.
However, humans share biologically determined characteristics of 
learning with many members of the animal kingdom.  B.F.Skinner 
found that we can identify with at least pigeons and white lab rats.  
The fact that rudimentary learning and logic mechanisms are 
shared with us by the animals is a strong indication that logic has 
its roots far back in the neurological evolutionary process.

In the nineteenth century, Auguste Comte founded a philosophical 
movement he called "positivism".  He proposed that philosophers 
should concern themselves only with the phenomenon that have an 
objective "positive" existence.  For instance, position A is a mental 
observation of a real position A' in the material world.  Since the 
real world on the prime level cannot exist in the mind, the 
observation must be projected into the mind by the senses, study, 
and memorization.  If one were to logically conclude that B is next, 
one must observe B' in the real world to see if one's reasoning
is valid and the step from A to B is justified.

The following example of house pet behavior is an example of 
rudimentary positivism.  Kittens play with each other in the most 
comical ways.  I have watched one chase the other around the 
couch.  On the second or third pass, the one running behind 
jumps over the couch and poises above the exit point of the kitten 
being chased to pounce on it as it runs by.  Kittens have the ability
to be logical in this limited way.

In some ways, humans more often seem less logical than their 
animal counterparts.  It's almost as though the capability of greater 
intelligence enables a greater potential for illogical considerations.

rich
http://www.seanet.com/~realistic/idealism.html
Realistic Idealism
Chapter 4