Are humans the most valuable organisms on the planet?

Ok, this post I like a lot more. You made some valid points.

First of all let me get this out of the way:
YOU: "Who really cares if you can land on the moon? Only humans do."
ME: "What else, that we know of, even has the capacity to care about us landing on the moon?"
YOU: "So are you trying to tell me that the capacity of the human mind/intelligence, is way more valuable and impressive then a plants ability to photosynthesize, a cheetahs ability to run...."

In that particular comment I wasn't saying that, I was just pointing out that you saying that only humans care about humans landing on the moon was obvious because only humans have the capacity to care. As far as we know, no other organisms CAN care. Dogs and mice have no clue we landed on the moon. I was just pointing that out.

But on to what you are saying about whether or not our intelligence is more valuable than the host of examples of abilities other creatures have, I would say that it depends on your definition of valuable. There is a reason why humans have risen to the top of the food chain (a place we weren't always). From 5 million years ago all the way until about 100,000 years ago (estimated numbers, but they are close) the human race was primarily a scavenger race, similar to a vulture. When a big animal would kill a small animal we would steal its carcass after the bigger animal was done with it. Humans slowly, around this time, began to expand their knowledge of toolmaking and started doing a lot of the hunting and gathering on their own. We then about 6-8 thousand years ago (whenever you want to place it) had the Neolithic revolution and began farming. This lasted until about 1800 with the industrial revolution which spurred a rapid chain of events; increasing our technological capability many times over. We no longer have to steal carcasses from bigger animals.

What is the point of all of this? I'm just demonstrating what our intelligence has been capable of. We weren't handed our position as the most powerful race on the earth, we attained it.

The question, however, is if our intelligence is more valuable than the abilities of all of the other creatures. If the question is most valuable for survival, then yes. Most valuable to the PLANET? No, it would probably win the award for most likely to destroy the planet. Neither of these was the question. The original question of the thread asked if humans were the most valuable organisms ON the planet. Any my answer remains the same. Our intelligence is so great that we not only have the abiliity to achieve all the technological advances we have on this planet, but we WILL have the ability to leave and colonize space. Who knows, maybe we will save one thousand other planets from their destruction by inventing a planet-saving chemical? It is hypothetical, and who knows if it could ever really happen, but the point is that it has the POTENTIAL to happen, and you can't say the same about any other organism on the planet. A fox, clever as he/she may be, is not going to leave earth and save planets from destruction (despite what Star Fox might tell you :) )

Maybe it is the human ego, but I really believe that we should take ourselves as far as we can go. I've never once said we should purposefully hurt animals or the planet to achieve our ends, but I do believe that as humans we should look at ourselves as having the potential to outgrow this planet and achieve more. Maybe not in 100-200 years, but within a thousand we will have colonized other regions in space. The question will then become not whether we are the most valuable organisms on the planet but rather the most valuable in the universe.

P.S. I take back what I said about people like you holding up the human race, I was just responding harshly to as post that I took as an attack. No hard feelings, I enjoy this debate.

"People like you hold back the progression of the human race."

I disagree. Just because I care about other species except my own does not mean I am holding back the human race. Like others, I am excited and interested in new technology. As a consumer, I am constantly purchasing new mad-made invention. As an individual, I amazed at the things we accomplish. However, I feel that our progression does not make us any more valuable than any other organism.

"What else, that we know of, even has the capacity to care about us landing on the moon? Do you read what you write?"

So are you trying to tell me that the capacity of the human mind/intelligence, is way more valuable and impressive then a plants ability to photosynthesize, a cheetahs ability to run extremely fast, or a bears ability to hibernate up to 100 days. The human race is no better than any other organism on this planet, like each organism we have our own trait that we believe is more superior to the other. Our intelligence is necessary for our survival just as a camels ability to go without water for periods of 8-10 days. We find our intelligence the most valuable asset because we are the judge. If you asked a bird what the most valuable asset was, he would say his ability to fly and migrate. And if value is measured in success, other organisms have been more successful than us. Bacteria have been around since the Earth's inception, living in places uninhabitable by humans. The oldest Cockroach is over 300 million years old.

The human ego "is why we value ourselves more than other human beings, and that is why we declare that the human being is the dictator of the world, a power given by a God or our own Intelligence. In the end, we are "programmed" to take special interest in our own pleasure and/or survival."

People like you hold back the progression of the human race. People thought exploring out of Europe would cause them to fall off the face of the earth, too. Should they have stayed on their continent? Seriously, why should I be worshiping a huge rock when I am the most complex organism living on it? The human race (as we have already PROVEN by landing on the moon) has the ability to up and leave this one small planet so why should we tie ourselves down to it?

"By declaring that in another 100-200 years, we will discard this planet like an unwanted toy is very childish and ridiculous. I have yet to hear about another planet as perfect the one we live in now and also the technology to send billions of people to it."

Read my post before you assault it please. I never ONCE said to treat the planet like an unwanted toy, I said we SHOULD take care it, but not tie ourselves down to it. In fact, I used history to explain that the human race is doing JUST that, 50 years ago we treated the planet MUCH worse than we do now. Humans have made great strides in realizing the damage caused to the planet and are taking steps to help resuscitate it. Then you go on to say that because we don't have the technology or a destination NOW, we won't leave? Do I really have to point out what is wrong with this statement? Did we have cars and computers 200 years ago? Did people FORSEE the creation of technology we have now? And on not knowing if we have a destination planet, do you KNOW how many planets there are in the universe? To suggest that there aren't at least thousands of other planet humans could inhabit just like earth is asinine.

"I hope that we leave you and your ego behind."

I apologize for believing in the human race. For shame.

"Humans are only valuable to each other. Who really cares if you can land on the moon? Only humans do."

What else, that we know of, even has the capacity to care about us landing on the moon? Do you read what you write?

i believe the world would better off with out us. we just rape our planet like we have another one waiting for us or something. this (as of now) is our only home

You are answering a different question that was originally asked, I think. I would tend to agree that humans are not valuable TO the planet, as we use its resources and (unfortunately) pretty much destroy it. However, my answer to the original question (are we the most valuable ON the planet) would be an emphatic yes. The human brain is the most complex and powerful thing we know of (so far)...human life is by far (in my opinion) the single most important thing and must be valued above all else.

Our planet is just a rock with an atmosphere...we can prove that its existance has a limit. It really cannot be proven that the human race has a limit.

i'm surprised that no one has mentioned alan weisman's book "the world without us" yet. for those who are unfamiliar, the author explores what the world would be like if humans were to just disappear from the planet. he discusses how (hypothetically) the rest of the world (everything from plants to animals to technology remnants) would live without humans anymore.

now i wish i could tell you what he said about the impact of humans on the earth... but i only got to read the first chapter by the time i had to return the book to the library. hmph.

I can't believe all the ridiculous things being said to justify the human race.

Treating the earth like a temporary home is absurd. The earth is more than a place of residence, it is the reason life exists. It is a living, breathing organism that is uniquely built to sustain life. If you stopped and literately smelt the roses, you would find that without all these other organisms, you would not be here. We depend on the sun and water to grow vegetation, plants and bacteria to supply us with food and oxygen, animals for food, clothing, and shelter. The list goes on and on. Furthermore, every human thought and invention has been created through our use or interaction with other living and non-living organism. The Earth provides us with all our necessities, unlike your man-made iphone which just surfs the web and calls your friends.

By declaring that in another 100-200 years, we will discard this planet like an unwanted toy is very childish and ridiculous. I have yet to hear about another planet as perfect the one we live in now and also the technology to send billions of people to it. If this max exodus does occur in the foreseeable future...I hope that we leave you and your ego behind.

Humans are only valuable to each other. Who really cares if you can land on the moon? Only humans do.

I'm not fond of what the human race has done and will continue to do to the planet - namely, poisoning it and striking massive blows to biodiversity. And yet I would still argue we are incredibly valuable, for the sole reason that no other species has the capacity to save the planet from the next giant asteroid impact.

If human beings disappeared, the world would still continue on. Sure certain animal species would find life more difficult if not impossible. My point is, that the majority of the animal kingdom and the environment itself would still do quite fine without us. Now, if we lost the entirety of a certain class of animals (ie scavengers) I think the world would be alot worse off.

Humans have done ridiculously awful things to their environment. They lay waste to anything and everything in their path. Small gestures towards saving what we have lost are meaningless in the face of destruction of countless species, habitats, and indigenous wildlife (not to mention indigenous peoples!).

Trying to assign value to a species depends on the background you are looking at. If we're looking at assimilating the species surroundings to fit their lives, humans win.

But, honestly, I thrill at the sight of nature taking back what was once hers. There's a special coming up on the History Channel of life after humans. They look at villages surrounding Chernobyl which have been abandoned for over twenty years and are veritably teeming with life. There are books out now about how life will go on after we disappear.

And, depressing as it is, it excites me.