Mill likes to point out the obvious fact that man is superior to beast. We can reason and reflect and have a conscience. I was particularly interested in Mill's dialogue on page 572 where he talks about how no sane man would willingly go from a higher being to a lower being. "Few human creatures would consent to be changed into any of the lower animals. . ."
Honestly though, what is so good about this unique ability of ours? Nine times out of ten it only works in making us depressed. The stress of life is often caused because of over-reasoning. Why, if given the chance, wouldn't you want to give all this up? Then again, would I really be willing to degrade myself by becoming a lesser animal when I was previously human? I've been going back and forth with myself all day over this one fragment of a sentence. Do I value my ability to reason enough to keep it if I ever had the chance to get rid of it?
I commented on Jeremy Beaman's
You make some interesting points that would be great for an open discussion!
ReplyDeleteThis idea also caught my attention. You raise some interesting questions. The "good Christian" in me wants to make the point that we are all "made in the image of God" and that is why we should appreciate our position above the lower animals, but then again, as you said, this higher-level of consciousness I have is often what places me in a state of despair. This topic is definitely worth pondering.
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