The human animal?

[heretic888]

humans are not as unique as they think they

That was entirely my point. I didn't mean to discriminate against birds and millipedes.

Basically, if an intelligent alien species were to observe evolutionary trends among paleomammals over the last 2 million years or so, they would have "seen" a species like humanity coming. We're not that special. Increasing cephalization and socialization have been a common trend among our little corner of the animal kingdom for quite some time.

I occasionally hear invocations of the "image of God" line in Genesis to explain why we're supposedly "special" or the just-as-silly Anthropic Principle (basically, nature was set up specifically to create human beings). I find this all to be Special Pleading and little more than anthropocentrism at its finest.

 

[kaizasosei]

i never doubted that...

simply chasing my own demons.