You keep wording this as if humans are not a species of animal. Generally, the greater the emphasis on how "special" they are, the more humans are likely to treat other animals poorly. This is why such belief systems as Abrahamic creationism must be eroded until they and their associated power structures collapse.
I word it this way because the distinction between the two bears examination. If we are not different from animals, then why are different behaviors punished in humans but not in other animals? I don't treat other animals poorly because I think I'm superior; I'm indifferent to other animals, save for avoiding hitting them on the road.
I can answer this with no need for value judgments of any kind: It's impractical and unreasonable to expect species adapted to fill completely different niches than ours to conform to our expectations of "good behavior", regardless of cognitive abilities or other metrics traditionally invoked to contrast humans with other animals. Also, Prime Directive
Then why do we do so? Doesn't that make us different from other animals? Doesn't apply since we're not in Starfleet. Perhaps you prefer the Hippocratic Oath?
Until and unless the "Problem of Other Minds" can be overcome, a satisfactory answer to this question is impossible.
Yeah, I never understood the rationale, behind the claims by some that all their thoughts are illusions, and as such untrustworthy. They like to say things like, "Live in the moment, because that's all there is"...but then the next day comes, and they do the same exact thing all over again. For me, that's genuinely confusing.
All animals behave differently, I'm not going to punish our dogs for behaving differently from the horses that we saw on our walk this morning.
Just out of curiosity, have you spent much time around animals? We've pretty much always had animals my whole life, we've had dogs, cats, birds, ferrets, and fish. And I've spent so much time around, and seen so many examples of how caring, emotional, and intelligent they are, that I can't help but sympathize with them, and care about them.
Hey random question. Is the forum displayed different if you are reading it on a phone or tablet? I noticed on the phone people's signatures are cut off.
It is not. You can, on a mobile device, select to view the desktop site, but it gets a little more cumbersome to navigate.
Today is my 30th birthday, I understand Bashir now more than ever. But I'll try to remember Garak's words