[drtom]

because we are human beings we have rational "souls" this great capacity for thinking and choosing, whereas animals and plants do not.

Is this really so? If I condition my dog through punishment not to eat the neighbor's bunny rabbits, and he follows, is that different from conditioning a criminal? The dog chooses not to eat the bunny in order to avoid punishment, the criminal chooses not to shoplift in order to avoid punishment. Rather than comparing extreme polarizations, that is an animal just driven by instinct (eg. a snake) vs a highly rational person, move the two groups closer together and compare a primate to people attending the Jerry Springer Show. And the book tries to tell me that the latter have this "great capacity for thinking and choosing"?

[Global2010]

I am going to go read chapter two.