I hate atheists who think humans are inherently superior to animals

54% Normal

Is that normal?

I just think it's completely ridiculous that atheists can think that way. I can understand that point of view from religious people, who probably believe that their god created man to have dominion over all the animals or whatever.

But atheists should believe in evolution, the best explanation we have for how all the different species came into being. The evidence indicates that all organisms are descended from a common ancestor so we are distantly related to all animals.

Humans are more intelligent than other animals but that's about it. Intelligence really doesn't seem like that great of a thing to me. It's helped our species survive for this long but it also makes it possible for us to destroy the planet through our own arrogance or stupidity (because although we may be more intelligent than other species of animals, we're still pretty dumb). It also lets us see how pointless life really is. People with higher IQs are more likely to be depressed, there's a reason for that.

It's normal to feel closer to other humans than to other species of animal, like most people would feel closer to their parents than to some random guy, but thinking humans are inherently superior to all other animals just because they're human is like someone thinking their family is inherently superior to everyone else just because they're their family. It's arrogant and it's stupid and I hate it.

Voting Results

54% Normal

Based on 127 votes (69 yes)

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Comments ( 30 )

Rallaa

13 years ago

I am an atheist.
I believe that humans are smarter and that's the only thing we have against any other animal.
Humans are weak. In the wild, without technology, humans can be pretty low on the food chain.
It's our superior intelligence that allows us to use technology and put us on top of the food chain.
We are better than other animals in the sense that we are more intelligent. That is it.
Other than that, we are weak.

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Liam

13 years ago

Strangely, I never thought as humans inherently superior than humans EVEN before I realized of my atheism, and it hasn't changed at all after the fact. After reading this a question came up to my mind, "As a human being are animals just as worth fighting for, dying and living for as other humans?" My answer is yes, yes they are.

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imadragon

10 years ago

I'm an atheist and I agree. I like animals more than people. The planet would be a lot better if the human race did not exist.

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800imawesome

11 years ago

Im 100% athiest, and I believe that most of us would'nt survive a day in the Sahara Desert. Animals are just as intelligent as us, just in different ways. Without intelligence, how would ants work together to lift up peices of food 50 times their size? How would monkeys use strategy and teamwork to catch food if they werent smart?

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dom180

12 years ago

Surely an atheist, like myself, believes humans and animals are equal? Just because science tells us that we are cleverer than other animals, it doesn't mean that we are "better". The atheists I know believe that all species, humans and other animals are equal. That is why there is a larger proportion of vegetarians amoungst atheists than in other groups.

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calicopenguin

14 years ago

I haven't really been following any of the arguments, but I'm an athiest... And personally I don't beleive humans are ny more superior to animals, not in the least. And I think the only reason I'm respnding to this is becuase arrogance is a HUGE pet peeve of mine. Seriously, usually when humans do evolve or 'improve' under any circumstance, it's for the worse. Animals have thrived for centuries with very little to start with, and the only reason they're dying off now is because of humans. And most of us wouldn't last a month without a house or car. It's kind of pathetic"/

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smurph514

14 years ago

You said that intelligence inst that big of a deal? i beg to differ. intelligence is the only thing that separates......pretty much everything in life.

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BrightEyes

14 years ago

I'm an atheist and hate those who think they belong on a pedestal just because they can operate an iPod. I love animals as if they were my siblings.

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Cagedmansyndrome

14 years ago

I'm an Antitheist and I think Humans are scum, I hate the human race and I hate this planet. There, you happy not all of us think we're superior to anyone.

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[Old Memory]

14 years ago

I am an Atheist.
I have always believe evolution is a fact.
I don't think I am better than another animal just because I am a human.
I eat meat, but I have a huge amount of respect for the animals/fish I eat.
My husband is an Atheist and a vegetarian.
I've never met another Atheist who thinks the way you are describing.

Where on Earth are you getting your information from?!
I don't think you know what you are writing about.

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52pokerkang

14 years ago

lol, ur cleeeaaaaarrrrllllly an idiot.

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- Anonymous Post Author
  
  14 years ago
  
  Yeah, your lack of reading comprehension cleeeaaaaarrrrllllly makes me an idiot.
  
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52pokerkang

14 years ago

Yes, I read your entire idiotic statement.

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- Anonymous Post Author
  
  14 years ago
  
  Then why did you think your looooooooooooove for animals was at all relevant?
  
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52pokerkang

14 years ago

OP is an idiot. I'm an Atheist and I looooooooooooove animals,,, despise humans.

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- Anonymous Post Author
  
  14 years ago
  
  Then you're not one of the people I was referring to. Did you actually read the story or just the title? I'm an atheist too, you moron.
  
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kefni

14 years ago

I'm an atheist... not your run-of-the-mill atheist, but still an atheist. You probably shouldn't have tagged these people as atheists, even if they are, because you really should be mad at all people who think humans are just plain better than animals. Unfortunately, I fit into whatever you're describing, and I believe most (not all) humans are just plain better than animals. With intelligence we made a gun. We've made cars and other weapons, that means, as far a species goes, we're the top of the food chain. What animal naturally can defeat a fully armed human? None. With what we've created as a society puts us at the top, and thats why we have giant cities filled with us, and have unfortunately ran many animal societies into the ground. Brains have won over brawn as far as the food chain has gone, and atheists have nothing to do with it.

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- Anonymous Post Author
  
  14 years ago
  
  I specified atheists because I don't mind when religious people think humans are better than animals. Their religion gives them a decent reason for it--if they were right and a deity had created us to be better than all other animals, then we really would be better than all other animals.
  
  I don't believe being at the top of the food chain makes us better. If I take over the world by slaughtering everyone who stands in my way that doesn't make me superior to all other humans, it just makes me a dick.
  
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  - [Old Memory]
    
    14 years ago
    
    Let me see if I understand you correctly: You think it's acceptable for religious people to feel superior to animals because they believe an old myth, but it's not acceptable for atheists to feel superior because they don't believe in a god(s).
    
    You are grossly overgeneralizing BOTH groups of people. Could it be that you just don't like atheists and want to get nit-picky about it?
    
    Anyway...
    Most scientifically savvy people don't refer to "survival of the fittest" as a term that best describes the process of evolution; whether they are atheists or not. "Natural selection" is a more appropriate term to describe that whom ever lives long enough to successfully mate is the winner. Who eats whom, or which species shows the greatest intellect, is only one small part of the larger picture. So, cockroaches have us beat!
    
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    - Anonymous Post Author
      
      14 years ago
      
      I like atheists in general. I'm an atheist and I'm pretty awesome.
      
      The idea that humans are inherently superior to all other animals is logically consistent with the idea that some kind of deity created us all and thinks humans are the best (whether the deity literally built the first man and woman as described in the Bible, or just created the universe knowing in its omnipotence that one day life would arise on Earth and humans would eventually evolve). The deity would in a position to objectively compare us to other animals and judge which is the best, and we should trust its judgment since it would be infinitely better than us in all ways.
      
      It's sort of logically consistent with belief in reincarnation--to people who believe in reincarnation, humans are superior in that it's better to be reborn as one since we tend to suffer less. If you do good in this life you might be reborn as another human in the next one, if you do bad you might be reborn as a cockroach.
      
      It's not logically consistent with atheism. Without any kind of deity or afterlife telling us humans are the best there's no reason at all to believe they are. All the atheists I've talked to who believed humans are superior to animals picked some arbitrary thing, like our intelligence or our position on the food chain, and insisted that that arbitrary thing made us the best. None of them had any good reason why that thing should be used to determine the best species of animal.
      
      Basically, "we're superior because the supreme being says we're superior, and it created us and is infinitely more intelligent than us so it should know" is a much better reason for thinking we're superior than anything I've heard an atheist come up with and anything I've been able to come up with as an atheist myself.
      
      Whether or not belief in a supreme being is reasonable is a different matter.
      
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      - [Old Memory]
        
        12 years ago
        
        Lol I guess the fact that we are pretty much the same and you're a tad arrogant combined with the fact that you think humans are superior to animals makes me understand and respect you but on the other hand hate you^^ And I rlly dunno why!
        
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      - [Old Memory]
        
        14 years ago
        
        Thanks for explaining yourself. I understand where you are coming from now and I think you may have a point. However, I haven't met many other Atheists that believe they are superior to animals, but if they did, your argument would come to my mind.
        
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        52pokerkang
        
        14 years ago
        
        lololololololollollolol
        
        ur such a fkng moron its unbelievable
        
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  - lolol555
    
    12 years ago
    
    "Their religion gives them a decent reason for it" No, I'll have to disagree there.
    
    What they believe in doesn't give them a decent reason for anything.
    
    That's like saying "Well he murdered him, but his religion encourages that so at least he had a decent reason for it; unlike atheist murderers..."
    
    What you are implying is that having a religion for a reason makes that person better, or superior if you like, then those who do not.
    
    >_> Sorry, but I think that's bull.
    
    Oh and my religion made me reply this to you, does that mean you won't argue and agree with my point? :D
    
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  - PoisonFlowers
    
    14 years ago
    
    Yep. I especially like the last sentence.
    
    I think that the idea that humans are inherently superior to other living organisms doesn't really come straight from religion (specifically Christianity I'm guessing, since I know next to nothing of other religions.) It was probably used as a way to justify our destructive ways right from when they began to be adopted - starting first with the unique style of agriculture that involves killing off our competitors and starving them whilst growing ever increasing amounts of human food, and then with the other things that followed it, such as the industrial revolution. These are things that underpin our whole way of life, something that has now gone global, save for a few tribes and communities that do not partake in it.
    
    That's why it's less of a religious thing and more of a cultural thing. The religious ideology was born from the values of the overarching culture. Yeah, people who call themselves atheists "shouldn't" think in that way, since they're supposedly rejecting religious ideas, but then again, people who are religious also modify the traditional beliefs, so that their belief system includes "humans are not superious beings to other organisms" or "gays aren't evil" (for example.) Believing or not believing in a god or gods doesn't have as much of a bearing on it. It's in the culture. What do you think?
    
    As you said though, it's silly that an atheist who looks to science would think of humans as superior and rulers of the planet. Think about it, that latter part is like an undercurrent for everthing, isn't it? Everything we do, it's because of that belief - that we are meant to conquer and rule the world. However, our intelligence is always going to be stated as a reason for our superiority. You've already stated an answer to the replies above though. It's true, I mean, if we're so incredibly intelligent, then why are we heading straight for failure? It's all because of our stupid "we're superior, we can handle it, we're not the same as other animals" attitude.
    
    Given enough time, other organisms with the capacity for intelligence at the level of humans or surpassing it would probably evolve, but it doesn't seem like we're (collectively) too keen to allow that to happen. Nope, we're too bent on consuming everything in sight.
    
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    - Anonymous Post Author
      
      14 years ago
      
      I guess you're right. Now that I think about it some humans do it to other humans too, convince themselves some other group of humans is somehow inferior to justify things like mass murder and slavery or just to have someone to feel superior to.
      
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[Old Memory]

14 years ago

we more intelligent cuz we was made that way , its same like chicken and monkey , monkey is smarter than the chicken but you'll still say they both animals. same with people. we just smarter than the other animals but we still are.

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wuddeva

11 years ago

My god... Are you 12 and you don't realize that the severely overdeveloped frontal lobe, exclusive to humans, is what makes us superior? We can't survive alone in a desert but we sure as hell can begin a civilization that grabs resources from around the world. I also can't lift a car over my head, much to the credit of an adult silverback gorilla, but I CAN pay a crane operator 150 bucks to put it on the roof of the school. I hope that you were trolling...

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maacri

13 years ago

why people write this much when it comes to atheism or religions..?! :)

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dubsaks

14 years ago

very well read person raised christian/catholic. Full understanding of subtle differences in most western religions, knowledgeable in every major world religion, especially, those of indians(not red dot, but red skin and feather) and the extreme followers of the middle east, (to gain clarity on what god i was sending them to while serving)

Now, Im agnostic, not anti god.. Just dont have faith...
1, science is effing real. Your a retard if you think evolution is the devil, and tho i cant change your mind, i truly feel sorry that your life will be based on that ignorance, and fear.

2, knowledge is equal to strength. like killing animals? outsmart them? GOOD FOR YOU i dont care.. JUST USE YOUR SUPERIOR HUMAN BRAIN to stop before negatively affecting your surrounding area..

3. Keep a close eye on your pet..It takes some real smarts to not let irrational issues affect your life. your dumb ass cat; lives solely on instinct, and sense. EAT, SLEEP, FUCK, SELF DEFENSE. so close you can set your watch. it wouldnt die trying to get you out of a moving cars path..

4.fuckin relax. you cant change extreme beliefs in people good or bad. save your breath. and shut up. someone talks shit on me right now, fuck em. Why fight with someone who feels different. different strokes for diff folks.. really got a problem, ask for my address, and we'll have a shoot-out. not willing to go that far.. dont start

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Are You Normal?

I hate atheists who think humans are inherently superior to animals