Do you think that animals and people are "equal"?

[julieruble]

Thanks for your response, suezin. One thing that interested me was that you said "nature intended." Do you think of nature as an entity with intentions?

Also, personally, I don't think it's because of my own fear of dying that I care about another person dying. When I think about one of my family members dying, it concerns me because of a deep love for them and a desire for their safety. I think this is why people often say they'd rather die themselves than have one of their family members die. That being said, I think the relationship that causes this feeling is easier to see when it involves you (i.e. me and my sister) than when it doesn't (i.e. someone else and their sister), which is why you might not be as sad when someone else's sister dies--you don't have the deep love for her. I think this same phenomenon occurs when we think about animals -- some random deer or cow has no deep connection with me, but my dog does. I think as a result of this relationship thing, you might feel worse when your dog dies than you would if some random person dies. Whether or not that's (i.e. closeness of relationship) the sole reason for the depth of feeling when someone (animal or person) dies, I'm unsure.

[suezin]

I'm not sure if i'd consider nature an entity. I dont really like using that word. But i deffinately think of nature as holding power/controll, and yes i guess intentions aswell. I believe that when it comes to nature there are no mistakes. The concept of a 'mistake' is solely human. I'm not conveying that i think nature is this force that watches over people and punishes/rewards our actions. I jus believe nature is everything basic. It is everything around us and everything that we are.
I totaly believe/share your view about haveing stronger feelings for the death of closer family/pets then for jus ppl/aminals that are unknown. i was jus kinda talking about people and animals in general, not thoes that are close to you. i jus think that its easier for most people to relate thier life to that of other people rather then that of an animal. life in general i mean...life...living. and i think thats why some people dont seem to hold much worth for the life of animals, because they dont compare it or link it with the 'life' that they know or value as their own.

i hope i explained that a bit clear.