Animal paper

Explain and analyse the most important of the 6 cultural obstacles to seeing ourselves as animals - explain and analyse the most important of the 4 benefits of seeing ourselves as animals for living a good and meaningful life. Conclude with your perspective, perhaps including additional obstacles and/or benefits. Please speak your own truth

As human beings, we have gone to great lengths to truly distance ourselves from our natural animality (my computer tells me animality isn't a real word, but who cares. Shakespeare did it and so can I.). To really rationalize our concept of separation from nature, we have created a series of reasons that perpetuate the illusion that we are different from other animals. These reasons include; the book of Genesis, which describes us as the god- proclaimed rulers of nature, evolution which presents us with the idea that all things evolved in order to make a path for us as homo sapiens sapiens to exist. Then there is the fact that we spend the vast majority of our time as animals with only other humans who share the delusion that we are separate from other animals. There is the idea that body and soul are separate as presented by Descartes, and then again the similar idea of a soul as represented by religion. Finally, humans are forced into non-animal positions such as schools with uncomfortable plastic seating that argues with the natural inclination to be free, running and playing. By realizing we are animals, we can drastically improve our lives. Animals live lives free of the stressful constraints that humans live by, i.e jobs, school, bills, etc. Animals have natural birthing processes which enforces the idea of survival in the young so that those not strong enough will not survive, and it helps control the populace. Animals live healthier lives in that they eat from the food of the earth, no unnatural substances like trans-fats and added sugars contaminate their foodstuffs. Living like the animals we are will also allow us to live life the way were naturally planned to do so. nature requires nothing more of us than to live and procreate, if even that.
The book Genesis in the bible as read from the bible according to Jospeh tells us that god created us in their image. It might be important to note that god had created the sky and water animals before us humans, along with the land and sea. So up until our birth, it can be assumed that these animals were the designated rulers of the world. It was written that on the sixth day "God said, Let us make man in our image ... in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them." God created humans and the land animals "according to their kind" on the same day, which can be implied to mean that we are similar enough in nature to be equals. However, God evidently disproves this when they say "let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." This is the religious example of how we believe ourselves to be better than animals. We can't help our superiority, it was defined by God themselves! However, being as God themselves did not physically write the bible, this information is only as good as the ultimate source, which would likely have been one of many faithful disciples back in the 20-80 a.d. period. So if this isn't true, does that mean one of the others will be?
Evolution is the single largest competitor of the Christian creation story as far as human creation explanations go. Science has been desperately trying to debunk the myths that surround the origins of the universe, but have never been able to concretely identify why the universe came to be. The big bang is one major idea, but the reasons provided that may have caused it have been largely inconclusive. However, the point is that while evolution may argue religion on the point of how things came to be, they truly both say that everything has been put in place for the all-seeing, all-conquering human race. Evolution appears to some people as a more credible version of the same story, so they never challenge the focus of the issue, which is that both science and religion put us first before other animals. Granted, it is usually the means by which we came into the picture that captures the interest of the people, but they fail to understand how one sided their thinking is. They focus all their attention on how they are designed to be the rulers of the earth so much that they forget their citizenship of it.
The average homo sapiens sapiens spends about 95% of their time with only other homo sapiens sapiens. The other 5% may be devoted to time spent with family pets, trips to the zoo, the occasional trip to foreign countries where they enjoy the different wildlife, etc. This means that we have basically isolated ourselves as animals from the rest of the animal kingdom. We cage other animals in order to look at them "safely" and without danger to ourselves, but never imagine how it might feel to be in the cage. By separating ourselves physically from other animals, we clearly develop the predisposition against them that they are stupid,filthy creatures who are violent and wild. God forbid we take a look at ourselves like that. Oh wait, racism? We do it too? We're violent and wild? Oh my.
Both Descartes and popular religion entertain the concept that we humans have souls that exist separately from our body. Re-Education (Through Labor). This idea contributes to our separation from animals in that we as humans have souls while animals don't, and are confined to their all-too-mortal bodies. in Christianity, human souls separate from the bodies upon death and fly away to heaven or hell based on their lives, while animals like cows, sheep, dogs and others are only here to supply food for the planet. Descartes supposes that animals are soulless and that humans have souls because of their ability to think. Hopefully Descartes became part of the earth in the form of a tree, that a bear then defecated on.
Finally, we humans force ourselves physically into positions where we are forced to abandon our animal nature and adapt to become almost robotically. To completely rip off Andy's idea, it is as if we humans go from box to box, the boxes becoming increasingly smaller be it sitting at a desk in school to sitting in a box on the train to sitting in a box at your table writing a paper on your laptop due sunday at 9:00 am. These boxes are almost intentionally placed upon humans in order to drain the animal sense from them as well as their sense of rebellion and insurrection. How can schools ask their students to think outside the box when they are purposefully placing them inside the box? Disco Science.
Now that we have developed some sense of the anti-animal shackles that get thrust upon us, we must identify ways that removing these shackles will benefit our lives. To start, non-human animals live a much freer life than we do. They have no regimented boxes in which they force themselves, their job is only to exist as beings of the earth. They do not waste potential playtime hours by contemplating why they were put here or what their schedule is like, they simply exist in the moment. animals are very reactionary in the sense that what comes at them is dealt with when it hits, not before, not after. (As opposed to political reactionaries). Pork and Beans. Nature doesn't force expectations on animals, so why do humans act as if it does? Why does humanity go against nature and set up societies that develop expectations and norms? Living like an animal would liberate us of societal regiment and order, and people would be a great deal happier.
Another thing is that Animals eat healthy naturally. Humans have to go on diets that tell you what human-made foods you should avoid. What the (expletive deleted) is that? Gorillas don't worry about eating a banana as opposed to insects, they just know that they are hungry, so they eat. Animals have no trans-fats, no added sugar and they don't worry about their cholesterol. Empty Walls. Animals are natural healthy or unhealthy, and they can't help it. In that vein of health, Animals also give natural births that help to control the populace at the same time that it leads to a healthier birth, no intervention by doctors or any form of medical exercise. animal birthings, as in the case with the giraffe, are on the whole a very impersonal affair, the mother giraffe standing upright to let the baby fall out and get up by itself. If the baby is unable to do so, it dies. Nature would not have it any other way. Human babies are delivered in a strange room and subjected to all sorts of regulations, and are initially separated from the mother to be placed in a terrifying plastic incubator. It is a cold, heartless practice that gets dolled up and broadcasted as the safest way to have a baby. Thank god we have the memory of an earthworm at that age, or we'd be scarred for life.
Essentially, other, non-human animals live the good life more than we do. As for how meaningful the lives they lead are, it seems fairly simple that their lives are meaningful. They live happily for the most part. They exist and make the most of their time on the planet before they die or become a meal. Living like an animal is liberating at the same time it is trying. Having become so adapted to the lives we lead as humans, we are now unnaturally inclined to our TVs, video games, and internet connections. How many of us still take walks in the park? Or ride down the street powering yourself for motive transport? We are dying as animals and becoming more and more autonomous every day.

Class Today

I really Liked being in History class today.


I got to sort of one-up Andy. Kind of. I guessed the right word in his game of hangman, and I knew that a platypus was a non-placental mammal. It felt good to defy his expectation that we don't know anything of much interest. I dunno, maybe I'm being narcissistic. But regardless, It felt good to be able to see Andy say "Damn it! How did you know that.?"



I'm weird.

Living Funeral

I found that I really agreed with Morrie when he said that it's a shame that the dead never get to hear the good things said about them at their funerals. It's true, people say things at funerals that the newly deceased would have been happy to hear in life. It may seem to be a bit selfish to some, the whole idea of wanting to be able to appreciate your praise, but to hell with that, I'm dying.
I think the strange thing about death is how it can affect other people. That's why I think If i had a living funeral, I would use it to my full advantage. I know who I would invite, but more specifically who I wouldn't - it sends a more lasting message, one that says exactly how much I thought of the person. i would have the funeral on a wednesday. It's in the middle of the week so that means people would have to rearrange their schedules, and at least im not forcing people to sacrifice their weekend. When I made my list, I realized how stressing an assignment this was. I mean, who would I invite? Would these people even care to show up? Would they go just to avoid the guilt of not going? Would they cry, be truly sad? Or would they just sit there quietly until it was done? I know I wouldn't like to drag it out, pushing people deeper and deeper into discomfort. I also wouldn't require people to say anything. I was really...depressed by this list making. I couldn't see why people might want to come to my funeral if i was still alive, like maybe they would be more comfortable if I were actually dead and couldn't see how they reacted. I do know that if anybody mentioned going to heaven or religion or anything, I would make them run a lap of the room.

Class questions

Class Questions

!.) When did we come up with the idea for an old person bingo night?

2.) How common is it for old people to interact with teens?

3.) What % of old people are sexually active?

4.) Do old people have a dress code?

5.) What do old people find attractive?

6.) What do old people do for fun?

7.) What percent of old people wear tupees?

8.) Did today's old people grow up playing videogames?

9.) How often do old folks go to the bar?

0.) How lonely are old people?

Questions & Answers

Questions and Answers
1.) What % of Old people are sexually active?

The nationally representative survey of more than 3,000 U.S. adults ages 57 to 85 found that more than half to three-quarters of those questioned remain sexually active, with a significant proportion engaging in frequent and varied sexual behavior. (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/22/AR2007082202000.html)

More than 60% of individuals over 60 have sex at least once a month.
>http://std.about.com/od/stdsspecificcommunities/a/elderlystd.htm

2.) What % of old people experience hair loss?

3.) What % of old people have recently contracted STDs?

Recent statistics from the CDC have shown that the number of new HIV infections is actually growing faster in individuals over 50 than in people 40 years and under.

4.) What is the ratio of people over 55 to people under 18?

5.) What is the population of old people in homes in the US?

As of a year 2000 consensus,
65 years and over 1,557,800
65 to 74 years 210,159
75 to 84 years 574,908
85 years and over 772,733

Total of old people: 3,115,600

6.) What percentage of old people believe in a religion vs the percentage who do not? (Kate's Question)

7.) What percentage of old people still have a driver's license?

8.) How long does the average American person live? (Henry's question, tweaked)

We live until about an average of 75.37 years old. So technically, we are old for 20 years of our lives.
http://www.sciway.net/statistics/scsa98/vs/vs8.html

9.) What is the average annual expenditure of the elderly?

Interviews with the Old

After interviewing my grandmother, I decided to go out and hit the streets. My first place to try was the park, it being such a beautfiul day and all. I went on an old people hunt to fufill the interviews I needed. Note: Certain approaches work better than others. What follows will be the succesful ones.

Old Couple In CP
Me: Hello there, great day, isn't it?

Old woman: Oh yes it is. So surprising for february.
Old Man: What's that you're holding?

Me: Oh, this is my writing journal.

Old Woman: Are you a writer?

Me: Of sorts, I guess. Would you mind If I asked you both a few questions?

Old Woman: What sort of questions are you asking?

Me: Well, for my Meaning of Life course, I was asked to interview people to determine their views on what a good and meaningful life is.

Old Man: Sounds like a bunch of baloney. (He really actually said that.)

Me: Be that as it may

Older Folks

To be quite honest, up until this new unit I never put a thought to old people. I never thought about how life may have been different back in the day, how they may have had similar experiences in different contexts. The only interactions I have with the elderly are with my grandmother via telephone to Ireland. In general, when I am called to think of the elderly, I think of them as typically a little more mature than people in their 20s to 30s. I understand that the common media projects the elderly to be fragile and useless, what with all these ads floating around - ads like "Lifealert" and "Jitterbug", products that force us to view the elderly as nothing more than a hopeless mess with no one to turn to but us able-bodied people.