Is There Much Difference?

ThailandTom

I was just considering the action of say murder of a family member and the hurt it would cause the family (I am not crazy, I was watching a crime documentary). I thought that these people in the family were so so shocked and distraught by it all then something struck me. Say you have a deer, or some sort of animal with family and it gets killed, BAM! Dead. The family of that animal are now without a provider, I am sure they also feel emotion on some sort of level, I have seen elephants morn over a dead mother elephant. So as humans, why is there such a strict punishment for murder against a human yet nothing-near no punishment for hunting of animals? I am looking at this from an objective view, people tend to think we are so much higher up and so different than animals, in fact no we are not. Anyway what are your thoughts...?

Zero

ThailandTom said:

So as humans, why is there such a strict punishment for murder against a human yet nothing-near no punishment for hunting of animals?

I am looking at this from an objective view, people tend to think we are so much higher up and so different than animals, in fact no we are not. Anyway what are your thoughts...?

Taking life is irreversible - given that life is all we know, ending it prematurely is discouraged by society in the same way as a singular human (an individual point of society) avoids it - it's the overriding human drive - preservation and propagation.

As a society we value human life above all other forms

ThailandTom

Zero said:

ThailandTom said:

So as humans, why is there such a strict punishment for murder against a human yet nothing-near no punishment for hunting of animals?

I am looking at this from an objective view, people tend to think we are so much higher up and so different than animals, in fact no we are not. Anyway what are your thoughts...?

Taking life is irreversible - given that life is all we know, ending it prematurely is discouraged by society in the same way as a singular human (an individual point of society) avoids it - it's the overriding human drive - preservation and propagation.

As a society we value human life above all other forms

So why do laws not comply with this?

music

We are superior to animals, that's why.

Sile

I think things are slowly getting better, but far from perfect, and there are such baffling inconsistencies. In my state, many people have been fined and even imprisoned for killing or injuring a cat or dog, while at the same time the state is sanctioning a wolf hunt.

But I am grateful that at least at some point, animals are being accorded legal protections. Many nations without such laws find that amazing.

I definitely believe animals have emotions, and it seems they're always turning out to be more complex than we give them credit for. BBC just did a piece on singing mice--fascinating, and a long audio clip of the mouse-songs is included:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-19898947

Zero

ThailandTom said:

So why do laws not comply with this?

Which 'laws' and which 'this'?

I think the laws broadly do comply with the bit I said... I think... :scratch:

ThailandTom

music said:

We are superior to animals, that's why.

Errrr @music only on an intelluctual basis, can you fly without wings? Can you Sense a drop of blood in an ocean up to many KMs? We think we are so superior, yes okay we may be more intellectual but that does not make much of a difference when it comes to pain and emotion.

ThailandTom

In fact after some thought I had time to reflect on the answer you gave @music. Firstly you used such words as 'we' and 'superior'. Yes in the English language of course these are needed, but when you look at the situation from a moral and IMO Buddhist point of view, no, there is no I or we or superior, what gives you the right to take the life of an animal? Why is it so much less important than a life of a human? They both have emotions, they both feel pain and have families, so what if we are more inetellectual, that may make things even worse for us tbh.

lobster

Murder thoughts. Legal and ethical . . .

jll

there is no need for punishment when you understand karma.
US have very tough punishment for criminals.
has it decreased crime in US?

ThailandTom said:

I was just considering the action of say murder of a family member and the hurt it would cause the family (I am not crazy, I was watching a crime documentary). I thought that these people in the family were so so shocked and distraught by it all then something struck me. Say you have a deer, or some sort of animal with family and it gets killed, BAM! Dead. The family of that animal are now without a provider, I am sure they also feel emotion on some sort of level, I have seen elephants morn over a dead mother elephant. So as humans, why is there such a strict punishment for murder against a human yet nothing-near no punishment for hunting of animals? I am looking at this from an objective view, people tend to think we are so much higher up and so different than animals, in fact no we are not. Anyway what are your thoughts...?

Bunks

music said:

We are superior to animals, that's why.

But we are animals??????

jll

biologically speaking, we are animals.
but a unique animal.
to say we are superior may sound arrogant but there is some truth to it.
if you believe in buddhism, then you have been animals before.

Bunks said:

music said:

We are superior to animals, that's why.

But we are animals??????

vinlyn

jll said:

biologically speaking, we are animals.
but a unique animal.
to say we are superior may sound arrogant but there is some truth to it.
...

That's a very good way of putting it.

lamaramadingdong

Humans make the rules.