Are humans really the only being that knows it will die?

musicismylife78

You always hear this being said. Is it accurate? On some level i think its true. In that I cant imagine animals thinking about the future. Eckhart Tolle, author of The Power of Now, has suggested that if you need a reality check and feel stressed out, and are way too in your own head, just look at nature, at animals, at your pet. That animals arent thinking about what will happen in 5 years, or if they will have lived a full life. The last 5 years of my life have involved continually thinking about the question of "who am I"? You can bet animals dont think of this.

On the flip side, despite the complete disreguard humans have for nature and animals, animals have remained remarkably grounded in their true nature. All the recent huge disasters like Katrina or the tsunami or whatever, animals were not by and large among the dead. Animals sensed, in a way that humans have long since lost, that something was going to happen. And they left. They took off. Its hard for me to think that animals could sense earthquakes, and hurricanes and tsunamis, again something humans once had but lost, that animals could know all this, feel all this, yet couldnt understand that they too will die. Obviously not all animals see their mothers and fathers die, but dont you think if they did, that their mom died, and then wouldnt they know they would die too?

Additionally, animals are remarkably tradition or nature based. No doubt they are taught things that humans will never comprehend or understand or be able to comment on, like how a mother bear teaches her babies somethings. Its almost instinctual. How can animals have an instinct to all that goes on and not know about the cycle of life?

Whats your take?

Wilds

I'll take two of whatever you're on.

StillHere

I'm with Wilds..lol! I think I'd like some of what you're smoking

But I think they do... not in the same way as humans do, not something they would dwell on as we do, but an animal will crawl away and hide when it senses it's near the end. I believe that animals do know that they will die, at least when it's an impending inevitability, and are capable of making plans, however primitive, to try to ensure that their bodies will not be readily located by predators, etc.

A pet dog will hide in the basement or under a table or crouch in a corner when very sick or near death. A cat will hole up under a porch, or some other remote place where she is not likely to be found.

Obviously elephants and other animals can sense impending doom, whether its a sense of vibration, low pressure, electromagnetic fields, or some other sense we are not aware of or have lost via evolution.

sgreenw2

Apparently PIGS know when they are going to die, don't ask me how.

dimitrispearljam

Wilds wrote:

I'll take two of whatever you're on.

pjfan31

What? I'm gonna die????!!!! :shock: :shock:

dimitrispearljam

pjfan31 wrote:

What? I'm gonna die????!!!! :shock: :shock:

:shock: :wtf: NO WAY....ill fix that,u arent,,im the FIXER

Cinnamon Girl

Apparently chickens think about the future.

http://www.abc.net.au/science/news/stor ... 415178.htm

dunkman

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elephant%27s_graveyard

also, I'm pretty sure that most dogs know that if they shit in my garden then they will die. :thumbup:

catefrances

mankind is arrogant enough to think theyre the only animal that knows its gonna die.

dunkman

catefrances wrote:

mankind is arrogant enough to think theyre the only animal that knows its gonna die.

peacocks are arrogant... strutting around like their shit don't stink... and it does.. it smells of cholera.

catefrances

well ill have to take your word for that you crazy scotsman.. i dont go around smelling the shit of peacocks.

Heatherj43

Wilds wrote:

I'll take two of whatever you're on.

LOL!

pjfan31

catefrances wrote:

well ill have to take your word for that you crazy scotsman.. i dont go around smelling the shit of peacocks.

Nup, neither do I. However, I do giggle like a school girl over their name..... Peacock

i_lov_it

musicismylife78 wrote:

You always hear this being said. Is it accurate? On some level i think its true. In that I cant imagine animals thinking about the future. Eckhart Tolle, author of The Power of Now, has suggested that if you need a reality check and feel stressed out, and are way too in your own head, just look at nature, at animals, at your pet. That animals arent thinking about what will happen in 5 years, or if they will have lived a full life. The last 5 years of my life have involved continually thinking about the question of "who am I"? You can bet animals dont think of this.

On the flip side, despite the complete disreguard humans have for nature and animals, animals have remained remarkably grounded in their true nature. All the recent huge disasters like Katrina or the tsunami or whatever, animals were not by and large among the dead. Animals sensed, in a way that humans have long since lost, that something was going to happen. And they left. They took off. Its hard for me to think that animals could sense earthquakes, and hurricanes and tsunamis, again something humans once had but lost, that animals could know all this, feel all this, yet couldnt understand that they too will die. Obviously not all animals see their mothers and fathers die, but dont you think if they did, that their mom died, and then wouldnt they know they would die too?

Additionally, animals are remarkably tradition or nature based. No doubt they are taught things that humans will never comprehend or understand or be able to comment on, like how a mother bear teaches her babies somethings. Its almost instinctual. How can animals have an instinct to all that goes on and not know about the cycle of life?

Whats your take?

I see where Your coming from!...and Eckhart Tolle is GOOD...:)

eyedclaar

Animals just deal with death with a hell of a lot more dignity than humans. They understand it is part of a natural cycle. Animals also don't invent fairy tales about what happens after they die.

pandora

My Jakey knew he was dying that day

blackredyellow

catefrances wrote:

mankind is arrogant enough to think theyre the only animal that knows its gonna die.

lol, so true.

eyedclaar wrote:

Animals also don't invent fairy tales about what happens after they die.

and then there's that.

decides2dream

animals DO know about the cycle of life, probably in a better, healthier understanding than we've ever had or will have. it's quite clear. their survival instinct is so strong, and they are ingrained to reproduce, to protect their offspring fiercely and to prepare them to live on their own. their lives are filled with death, constantly. the fact that they don't sit around contemplating the lint in their bellybuttons as humans do...hell, just points to the fact that, imo, they know what's truly important in life; just living.

dunkman

decides2dream wrote:

animals DO know about the cycle of life, probably in a better, healthier understanding than we've ever had or will have. it's quite clear. their survival instinct is so strong, and they are ingrained to reproduce, to protect their offspring fiercely and to prepare them to live on their own. their lives are filled with death, constantly.

this could be the same for humans. we are ingrained to reproduce, we protect our children firecly and we then try and prepare them for life on their own.. and humans lives are constantly filled with death.

to say animals have a better understanding is a bit hippy, oh the clouds in the sky kinda crap.. cos dolphins are meant to be the second most intelligent species of life on the planet yet they still get stuck in tuna nets and as yet have not invented cars. ergo... they are quite dumb... just one dolphin needs to invent a tuna net radar thingy and they'd rule the fucking planet. :thumbup:

kenny olav

Oasis told us we're gonna live forever. An eternity of Oasis songs, imagine that. And we may never know the answer to the question that will forever be asked: "Where were you while we were getting high?"

redrock

Animals know they will die when the time is near (instinct) and just get on with what they need to do to prepare (ie find a sheltered area, etc.). Humans have a better understanding of life and death as we do not just rely on instinct but have evolved from that. As we anticipate death from the moment we understand life is ephemeral, we dwell on it and worry about how and when, will it be painful or slow or mercifully quick, what happens after (if anything), etc.

So no, humans are not the only being that knows it will die. They just 'know' it differently.

eyedclaar

dunkman wrote:

decides2dream wrote:

animals DO know about the cycle of life, probably in a better, healthier understanding than we've ever had or will have. it's quite clear. their survival instinct is so strong, and they are ingrained to reproduce, to protect their offspring fiercely and to prepare them to live on their own. their lives are filled with death, constantly.

this could be the same for humans. we are ingrained to reproduce, we protect our children firecly and we then try and prepare them for life on their own.. and humans lives are constantly filled with death.

to say animals have a better understanding is a bit hippy, oh the clouds in the sky kinda crap.. cos dolphins are meant to be the second most intelligent species of life on the planet yet they still get stuck in tuna nets and as yet have not invented cars. ergo... they are quite dumb... just one dolphin needs to invent a tuna net radar thingy and they'd rule the fucking planet. :thumbup:

Yeah, but no animal consciously makes decisions to destroy its own habitat. Humans do. We have the ideology of the cancer cell. Metastasize (we call it growth and progress) until we kill our host. We are smart enough to make better decisions, but we don't, ergo, how smart are we really?

decides2dream

dunkman wrote:

decides2dream wrote:

animals DO know about the cycle of life, probably in a better, healthier understanding than we've ever had or will have. it's quite clear. their survival instinct is so strong, and they are ingrained to reproduce, to protect their offspring fiercely and to prepare them to live on their own. their lives are filled with death, constantly.

this could be the same for humans. we are ingrained to reproduce, we protect our children firecly and we then try and prepare them for life on their own.. and humans lives are constantly filled with death.

to say animals have a better understanding is a bit hippy, oh the clouds in the sky kinda crap.. cos dolphins are meant to be the second most intelligent species of life on the planet yet they still get stuck in tuna nets and as yet have not invented cars. ergo... they are quite dumb... just one dolphin needs to invent a tuna net radar thingy and they'd rule the fucking planet. :thumbup:

maybe they don't want to rule the planet?
that's definitely a human thing - ego.

and humans do some pretty dumb shit too, so yea....that's across the board, all species.



btw - there are plenty of examples of humans NOT doing those things, at all. unfortunately, quite the opposite sometimes.



i just think animals are not as weighed down with it all and just live. obviously, it's all about a human higher consciousness, but that is neither good nor bad, better or worse...just different.

eyedclaar wrote:

Yeah, but no animal consciously makes decisions to destroy its own habitat. Humans do. We have the ideology of the cancer cell. Metastasize (we call it growth and progress) until we kill our host. We are smart enough to make better decisions, but we don't, ergo, how smart are we really?

too true!

dcfaithful

catefrances wrote:

mankind is arrogant enough to think theyre the only animal that knows its gonna die.

:thumbup:

musicismylife78

Wilds wrote:

I'll take two of whatever you're on.

i am actually straight edge. I think, as crazy as it sounds, that a message board. should be a place for, wait for it, gasp... intelligent and stimulating discussions!!! OH MY GOD! I like discussing these sorts of philosophical things, and its a welcome break from the usual asinine discussions that go on here.

StillHere

decides2dream wrote:

animals DO know about the cycle of life, probably in a better, healthier understanding than we've ever had or will have. it's quite clear. their survival instinct is so strong, and they are ingrained to reproduce, to protect their offspring fiercely and to prepare them to live on their own. their lives are filled with death, constantly. the fact that they don't sit around contemplating the lint in their bellybuttons as humans do...hell, just points to the fact that, imo, they know what's truly important in life; just living.

LOL...Decides...I'm pretty darned sure that my cat contemplates the lint (among other things) in his belly button on a perpetual basis :roll:

decides2dream

PJTouringGirl wrote:

decides2dream wrote:

animals DO know about the cycle of life, probably in a better, healthier understanding than we've ever had or will have. it's quite clear. their survival instinct is so strong, and they are ingrained to reproduce, to protect their offspring fiercely and to prepare them to live on their own. their lives are filled with death, constantly. the fact that they don't sit around contemplating the lint in their bellybuttons as humans do...hell, just points to the fact that, imo, they know what's truly important in life; just living.

LOL...Decides...I'm pretty darned sure that my cat contemplates the lint (among other things) in his belly button on a perpetual basis :roll:

he's got ya fooled....;)
(he's contemplating sucking out your breath while you sleep...not his own navel lint)
:shock:

eyedclaar

musicismylife78 wrote:

Wilds wrote:

I'll take two of whatever you're on.

i am actually straight edge. I think, as crazy as it sounds, that a message board. should be a place for, wait for it, gasp... intelligent and stimulating discussions!!! OH MY GOD! I like discussing these sorts of philosophical things, and its a welcome break from the usual asinine discussions that go on here.

C'mon you aren't interested in what sports and tv shows people are watching? Threads about people sitting on their ass watching others actually do stuff is as good as it gets.

chadwick

catefrances wrote:

well ill have to take your word for that you crazy scotsman.. i dont go around smelling the shit of peacocks.

dunk can't help it.
he works at a peacock petting zoo.

eyedclaar

chadwick wrote:

catefrances wrote:

well ill have to take your word for that you crazy scotsman.. i dont go around smelling the shit of peacocks.

dunk can't help it.
he works at a peacock petting zoo.

Is that a place where people stroke really small cocks?