Origin of Reason

[Zak_rs2]

Natural selection, yes.

We have the genetic code in our bodies that allow us to be able to think within reason, and act upon that thought. There may be other species in the world that are 'smarter than us' capably, but it is the homo-sapiens that are able to take this ability and develop it.
The definition of 'smart’, is tossed around so vigorously.

Are elephants smarter than us, because the have the memory as grand or if not more grand than a computer?

Are squirrels smarter than us because they are able to collect 250 nuts in less than 3 days?

Are dogs and cats smarter because they are able to sense danger from a mile away?

Every species has there own ability - humans have developed over time to use the earth's resources, to a far greater extent than animals.

Are elephants smarter then us? - in a way i guess you could argue that, because there mind has the ability to store data longer then ours, however im 100% sure a human being could attain this ability through training the mind to remember, doing various brain excersices.

Squirrels? no, humans could collect 250 nuts a day, with ease.

Dogs-cats? Not really, there ability to sense dangour a mile away is a myth, And if you were to claim its not, in the same way i could say phsycics could sense danger from a mile away.

I do however agree with what your saying in a way, each species has certain areas they excell at, so there able to survive (once again referring back to natural selsection) however most of these qualities/skills can be done by human beings, thus making us the smarter/most dominant species.

 

[FreedomFight]

Humans RETAIN and GAIN knowledge at a fast rate.

No other species does; there's not much to quibble about. 10,000 years ago, humans were just advanced apes. But each generation, humans become grossly more advanced than the last. That's the reason.

 

[FreedomFight]

One could argue that elephants retain knowledge better. Humans are advanced in some fields, but it's not black and white; it's a gradient. Humans just happen to be at the top of the species we've discovered.

Retain knowledge? Generation after generation? Now you're just arguing for the sake of argument. Humans rule from a combination of attributes - medium size, wide spread diet, language, intelligence, protection of infants, family unit... etc etc. Problem solving still ranks at the top though.

Yes, there could be a super species with invisible cloaks waiting to snipe us out, but we are by far the most advanced species discovered on our planent.

 

[draco14]

But why is our ability to reason so much more superior than other species? Why do they trail so far behind? It's like having a bunch of birds that can fly at 50-100 mph, and then one species of bird that can fly at supersonic speeds. Plus, some of our reasoning abilities have nothing to do with survival, therefore they are not affected by evolution. What does thinking about philosophy and the reason for our existence have to do with putting food on our table?

umm, we can't fly at all, we can make machines to make us fly, but the reason we make them go so fast is becoz any slower and they wouldnt be able to gain cruising altitude, and also birds dont really need to cross the atlantic ocean so theres no point

Intelligence isn't the same thing as reasoning. In knowledge terms, reasoning goes under problem-solving. As I posted earlier, dolphins are as intelligent as humans, they may not be comparable in problem-solving skills, they are superior in other knowledge functions.

ummm, dolphins are about as intelligent as a goldfish(this was proven in a study i read about) but they use more f their brains in comparison to goldfish which don't, the dolphins simply use what they have better.

In a sense.

Well, it depends on your definition of "advanced." I believe that if there were extraterrestrials that were exponentially more intelligent, their skills of reason would be correlated with their intelligence. The relationship between these extraterrestrials' reasoning skills and those of humans would be similar to the relationship between humans' and dogs' reasoning skills. When viewed from this perspective, it makes a bit more sense.

hmmm, interestin point tyro, but reason isnt always corresppnded to intelligence, if i go up to a dog swinging a bat it goes into offensive mode becouse it "reasons" that i intend to hurt it, perhaps the true meaning of intelligence is more correlated to our sentience than skill of reasoning?

 

[dam prayer noobs]

umm, we can't fly at all, we can make machines to make us fly, but the reason we make them go so fast is becoz any slower and they wouldnt be able to gain cruising altitude, and also birds dont really need to cross the atlantic ocean so theres no point

It was a metaphor... wow...

 

[draco14]

It was a metaphor... wow...

oh sorry mb didn't understand was in a rush and just wanted to make a comment on this interesting subject b4 i left:laugh: