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Borough of Manhattan Community College

Are Human Beings Really Better Than Animals?

A Discussion of Mark Twain’s The Damned Human Racehttp://moodyap.pbworks.com/f/Twain.damned.pdf

Questions, Writing Assignment, and Sample Essay by Andrew GottliebThe writing assignment is on page 8.

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Write about the following question:

Are human beings really better than animals?To answer this question, consider all the things people do that animals don’t.

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The Damned Human RaceMark Twain

I have been studying the traits and dispositions of the lower animals (so-called), and contrasting them with the traits and dispositions of man. I find the result humiliating to me. For it obliges me to renounce my allegiance to the Darwinian theory of the Ascent of Man from the Lower Animals; since it now seems plain to me that the theory ought to be vacated in favor of a new and truer one, this new and truer one to be named the Descent of Man from the Higher Animals.

According to Twain, who is higher on the evolutionary scale, animal or man?Do you agree with him?

In proceeding toward this unpleasant conclusion I have not guessed or speculated or conjectured, but have used what is commonly called the scientific method. That is to say, I have subjected every postulate that presented itself to the crucial test of actual experiment, and have adopted it or rejected it according to the result. Thus I verified and established each step of my course in its turn before advancing to the next. These experiments were made in the London Zoological Gardens, and covered many months of painstaking and fatiguing work.

Just how serious is Twain when he says he adopted the scientific method?

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Before particularizing any of the experiments, I wish to state one or two things which seem to more properly belong in this place than further along. This, in the interest of clearness. The massed experiments established to my satisfaction certain generalizations, to wit:

1. That the human race is of one distinct species. It exhibits slight variations (in color, stature,mental caliber, and so on) due to climate, environment, and so forth; but it is a species by itself, and not to be confounded with any other.

2. That the quadrupeds are a distinct family, also. This family exhibits variations (in color, size,food preferences, and so on; but it is a family by itself).

3. That the other families (the birds, the fishes, the insects, the reptiles, etc.) are more or lessdistinct, also. They are in the procession. They are links in the chain which stretches down from the higher animals to man at the bottom.

Some of my experiments were quite curious. In the course of my reading I had come across a case where, many years ago, some hunters on our Great Plains organized a buffalo hunt for theentertainment of an English earl. They had charming sport. They killed seventy-two of those great animals; and ate part of one of them and left the seventy-one to rot. In order to determine the difference between an anaconda and an earl (if any) I caused seven young calves to be turned into the anaconda’s cage. The grateful reptile immediately crushed one of them and swallowed it, then lay back satisfied. It showed no further interest in the calves, and no disposition to harm them. I tried this experiment with other anacondas; always with the same result. The fact stood proven that the difference between an earl and an anaconda is that the earl is cruel and the anaconda isn’t; and that the earl wantonly destroys what he has no use for, but the anaconda doesn’t. This seemed to suggest that the anaconda was not descended from the earl. It also seemed to suggest that the earl was descended from the anaconda, and had lost a good deal in the transition.

Do you think Twain really performed the experiments with the anaconda and the seven young calves? Why does he tell this story? What is his point?

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I was aware that many men who have accumulated more millions of money than they can ever use have shown a rabid hunger for more, and have not scrupled to cheat the ignorant and the helpless out of their poor servings in order to partially appease that appetite. I furnished a hundred different kinds of wild and tame animals the opportunity to accumulate vast stores of food, but none of them would do it. The squirrels and bees and certain birds made accumulations, but stopped when they had gathered a winter s supply, and could not be persuaded to add to it either honestly or by chicane. In order to bolster up a tottering reputation the ant pretended to store up supplies, but I was not deceived. I know the ant. These experiments convinced me that there is this difference between man and the higher animals: he is avaricious and miserly; they are not.

Based on this passage, how are people different from animals and insects?Do you agree with Twain’s conclusion?

In the course of my experiments I convinced myself that among the animals man is the only one that harbors insults and injuries, broods over them, waits till a chance offers, then takes revenge. The passion of revenge is unknown to the higher animals.

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Would you agree that revenge is a uniquely human passion? If so, does this make us worse than animals?

Roosters keep harems, but it is by consent of their concubines; therefore no wrong is done. Men keep harems but it is by brute force, privileged by atrocious laws which the other sex were allowed no hand in making. In this matter man occupies a far lower place than the rooster.

Why does Twain think that man “occupies a far lower place than a rooster?”Do you agree with him?

Cats are loose in their morals, but not consciously so. Man, in his descent from the cat, has brought the cats looseness with him but has left the unconsciousness behind (the saving grace which excuses the cat). The cat is innocent, man is not.

Does our consciousness of the wrong we do make us worse than an animal who is unaware that it is doing wrong?

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Indecency, vulgarity, obscenity (these are strictly confined to man); he invented them. Among the higher animals there is no trace of them. They hide nothing; they are not ashamed. Man, with his soiled mind, covers himself. He will not even enter a drawing room with his breast and back naked, so alive are he and his mates to indecent suggestion. Man is The Animal that Laughs. But so does the monkey, as Mr. Darwin pointed out; and so does the Australian bird that is called the laughing jackass. No! Man is the Animal that Blushes. He is the only one that does it or has occasion to.

Twain points out that man, unlike animals, feels shame. Does the fact that we feel shame make us better or worse than animals? How does Twain answer this question? How do you?

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At the head of this article we see how three monks were burnt to death a few days ago, and a prior put to death with atrocious cruelty. Do we inquire into the details? No; or we should find out that the prior was subjected to unprintable mutilations. Man (when he is a North American Indian) gouges out his prisoners’ eyes; when he is King John, with a nephew to render untroublesome, he uses a red-hot iron; when he is a religious zealot dealing with heretics in the Middle Ages, he skins his captive alive and scatters salt on his back; in the first Richards time he shuts up a multitude of Jew families in a tower and sets fire to it; in Columbus’s time he captures a family of Spanish Jews and (but that is not printable); in our day in England a man is fined ten shillings for beating his mother nearly to death with a chair, and another man is fined forty shillings for having four pheasant eggs in his possession without being able to satisfactorily explain how he got them. Of all the animals, man is the only one that is cruel. He is the only one that inflicts pain for the pleasure of doing it. It is a trait that is not known to the higher animals. The cat plays with the frightened mouse; but she has this excuse, that she does not know that the mouse is suffering. The cat is moderate (unhumanly moderate: she only scares the mouse, she does not hurt it; she doesn’t dig out its eyes, or tear off its skin, or drive splinters under its nails) man-fashion; when she is done playing with it she makes a sudden meal of it and puts it out of its trouble. Man is the Cruel Animal. He is alone in that distinction.

According to Twain, who is more cruel, more “inhuman,” people or animals? Do you agree with him?

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Writing Assignment about Twain’s The Damned Human Race:

Write a paper about the following question: Are human beings really better than animals?

Make reference to Twain’s The Damned Human Race along with whatever insights you have gained from your own experiences and observations.

The paper must be 4 double-spaced pages and satisfy all of the specifications and formatting requirements on the following pages of this handout to receive credit.

******************************************************************************Topic: Thesis:

All arguments in the essay will be evaluated in part as to the degree that they are thesis-centered, meaning that the instructor will grade papers in part on the basis of how well the arguments support the thesis statement. Other considerations will be coherence, organization, and general proficiency with the language which includes the ability to write grammatically correct sentences.

Essay Outline:

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Introduction:

Body - Summary and Interpretation of The Damned Human Race.

Conclusion:Review the ideas in the introduction and discuss insights you gained from reading The Damned Human Race.

Key Lines from Mark Twain’s The Damned Human Race:

1. I have been studying the traits and dispositions of the lower animals (so-called), and contrasting them with the traits and dispositions of man. I find the result humiliating to me. For it obliges me to renounce my allegiance to the Darwinian theory of the Ascent of Man from the Lower Animals; since it now seems plain to me that the theory ought to be vacated in favor of a new and truer one, this new and truer one to be named the Descent of Man from the Higher Animals.

2. Some of my experiments were quite curious. In the course of my reading I had come across a case where, many years ago, some hunters on our Great Plains organized a buffalo hunt for theentertainment of an English earl. They had charming sport. They killed seventy-two of those great animals; and ate part of one of them and left the seventy-one to rot. In order to determine the difference between an anaconda and an earl (if any) I caused seven young calves to be turned into the anaconda’s cage. The grateful reptile immediately crushed one of them and swallowed it, then lay back satisfied. It showed no further

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interest in the calves, and no disposition to harm them. I tried this experiment with other anacondas; always with the same result.

The fact stood proven that the difference between an earl and an anaconda is that the earl is cruel and the anaconda isn’t; and that the earl wantonly destroys what he has no use for, but the anaconda doesn’t. This seemed to suggest that the anaconda was not descended from the earl. It also seemed to suggest that the earl was descended from the anaconda, and had lost a good deal in the transition.

3. I was aware that many men who have accumulated more millions of money than they can ever use have shown a rabid hunger for more, and have not scrupled to cheat the ignorant and the helpless out of their poor servings in order to partially appease that appetite. I furnished a hundred different kinds of wild and tame animals the opportunity to accumulate vast stores of food, but none of them would do it. The squirrels and bees and certain birds made accumulations, but stopped when they had gathered a winter s supply, and could not be persuaded to add to it either honestly or by chicane. In order to bolster up a tottering reputation the ant pretended to store up supplies, but I was not deceived. I know the ant. These experiments convinced me that there is this difference between man and the higher animals: he is avaricious and miserly; they are not.

4. In the course of my experiments I convinced myself that among the animals man is the only one that harbors insults and injuries, broods over them, waits till a chance offers, then takes revenge. The passion of revenge is unknown to the higher animals.

5. Roosters keep harems, but it is by consent of their concubines; therefore no wrong is done. Men keep harems but it is by brute force, privileged by atrocious laws which the other sex were allowed no hand in making. In this matter man occupies a far lower place than the rooster.

6. Cats are loose in their morals, but not consciously so. Man, in his descent from the cat, has brought the cats looseness with him but has left the unconsciousness behind (the saving grace which excuses the cat). The cat is innocent, man is not.

7. Indecency, vulgarity, obscenity (these are strictly confined to man); he invented them. Among the higher animals there is no trace of them. They hide nothing; they are not ashamed. Man, with his soiled mind, covers himself. He will not even enter a drawing room with his breast and back naked, so alive are he and his mates to indecent suggestion. Man is The Animal that

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Laughs. But so does the monkey, as Mr. Darwin pointed out; and so does the Australian bird that is called the laughing jackass. No! Man is the Animal that Blushes. He is the only one that does it or has occasion to.

8. At the head of this article we see how three monks were burnt to death a few days ago, and a prior put to death with atrocious cruelty. Do we inquire into the details? No; or we should find out that the prior was subjected to unprintable mutilations. Man (when he is a North American Indian) gouges out his prisoners’ eyes; when he is King John, with a nephew to render untroublesome, he uses a red-hot iron; when he is a religious zealot dealing with heretics in the Middle Ages, he skins his captive alive and scatters salt on his back; in the first Richards time he shuts up a multitude of Jew families in a tower and sets fire to it; in Columbus’s time he captures a family of Spanish Jews and (but that is not printable); in our day in England a man is fined ten shillings for beating his mother nearly to death with a chair, and another man is fined forty shillings for having four pheasant eggs in his possession without being able to satisfactorily explain how he got them. Of all the animals, man is the only one that is cruel. He is the only one that inflicts pain for the pleasure of doing it. It is a trait that is not known to the higher animals. The cat plays with the frightened mouse; but she has this excuse, that she does not know that the mouse is suffering. The cat is moderate (unhumanly moderate: she only scares the mouse, she does not hurt it; she doesn’t dig out its eyes, or tear off its skin, or drive splinters under its nails) man-fashion; when she is done playing with it she makes a sudden meal of it and puts it out of its trouble. Man is the Cruel Animal. He is alone in that distinction.

Specifications

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1. Each essay must be stapled in the upper left-hand corner. Papers that are not stapled will not be accepted.

2. Each page of each essay must have typed page numbers in the upper right-hand corner. Papers without typed page numbers in the upper right hand corner will not be accepted.

3. Each essay must be typed. Essays that are not typed will not be accepted.

4. Font size must be 12.

5. Font style must be Times New Roman.

6. Each paragraph must be indented.

7. There must be no more than one double-space between paragraphs.

8. The name of the student, professor, course, and date must be flush left with a double-space between each. See example on the following page.

9. Each essay must be double-spaced.

10. For citations more than one sentences, use the following specifications. See example on page 9.

a. single-spaceb. font size 10c. left indent at 1 right indent at 5.5.

11. Quotation marks and the appropriate MLA citation for all quotes must be used. The absence of quotation marks where needed is PLAGIARISM. See example of internal punctuation on the following page. WARNING: Omission of quotation marks is grounds for an F for the paper and possibly for the final grade.

12. All sources used in the essay must be cited in a “Works Cited” page and be done according to MLA formats. See example on the page after the following page.

FormatFirst Page This is an example of the top of the first page of a paper.

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Use double-spaces. The title must be a double-space below the date and centered. See MLA Handbook - Seventh Edition. 4.3. Heading And Title. 116.

Internal Punctuation

Long QuotationsThis is an example of how to do a citation longer than one sentence.

ksfsdfsalsfdjkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkks;dflkaks;fldskf;sdlllllllllllllllllwks;dlfk’safdksa;

Works Cited Page

This is an example of the top of the first page of a works-cited list. Entries are in alphabetical order with second lines of each entry indented (hanging indentation).See MLA Handbook - Seventh Edition. 131.

The Works Cited page must be on a separate page.

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John Smith

Professor Abraham

English 201

May 7, 2009

Greek Tragedy

“In the very first year of our century Sigmund Freud in his Interpretation of Dreams offered a famous and influential interpretation of Oedipus the King:

Oedipus Rex is what is known as a tragedy of destiny. Its tragic effect is said to lie in the contrast between supreme will of the gods and the vain attempts of mankind to escape the evil that threatens them. The lesson which, it is said, the deeply moved spectator should learn from the tragedy is submission to the divine will and realization of his own impotence. (Trans. James Strachey)

This passage is of course a landmark in the history of modern thought, and it is fascinating to observe that this idea, which, valid or not, has had enormous influence, stems from an attempt to answer a literary problem – why does the play have this overpowering effect on modern audiences?” (Knox, Bernard. Sophocles – The Three Theban Plays. Translated by Robert Fagles. Penguin Books. Copyright by Bernhard Knox, 1982. 132. Print.)

When citing a source in the text do as follows: “Oedipus in the play is a free agent” (Fagles, 149).

When paraphrasing do as follows: Fagles maintains that Oedipus has free will (Fagles, 149).

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Andrew Gottlieb SAMPLE PAPER for Twain’s The Damned Human Race

English 101- (section number)

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Works Cited

Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Hamlet Prince of Denmark. Edited by Edward Hubler.

A Signet Classic. Copyright by Edward Hubler, 1963. Print.

Sophocles. The Three Theban Plays – Antigone, Oedipus the King, Oeidipus at Colonus.

Translated By Robert Fagles. Penguin Books. Copyright by Robert Fagles, 1982, 1984. Print.

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Professor Gottlieb

May 10, 2014

The Arrogance Factor

Introduction:

It is generally believed that in the hierarchy of God’s creation that mankind is top of the

pyramid. We are the most inventive and intelligent of all creatures. Unlike animals we have

laws and codes of conduct. We communicate in ways that are far more varied, subtle, and

complex. We can do math, make music and art, build cities, design and construct bridges,

cathedrals, palaces, tunnels, canals, highways, and hospital. We devise all kinds of cuisine and

have a sense of humor. What species other than human is capable of all these things? In spite of

all our accomplishments, there are some who see man’s sense of superiority as an illusion. In his

satirical essay, The Damned Human Race, Mark Twain maintains that people are worse than

animals. He even goes so as far as to affirm a reversal of the Darwinian theory of the

Ascent of Man from the Lower Animals. Rather than maintain that man is the last link

in the evolutionary chain, Twain suggests that animals are more evolved than humans and cites a

variety of examples to support his view.

Body - Summary and Interpretation of The Damned Human Race.

The first of these is the habit of humans to kill for sport. Countless buffalo have been

slaughtered merely for entertainment purposes. Unlike man, animals kill only what they need to

consume. Consequently, man is more wasteful and more cruel than an animal and hence,

inferior.

Twain goes on to point out that man, unlike animals, is “avaricious and

miserly” (Twain, 1). Humans are the only species that

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accumulate more than they need. They hoard vast stores of money and

resources far in exceed of their needs. Animal such as squirrels and birds

cannot, maintains Twain, be induced to indulge in the habit if excessive

accumulation.

Another flaw of humans not shared by animals alluded to by Twain is

the tendency to harbor insults and injuries and after dwelling upon these to

seek revenge. Animals apparently, have no such tendencies.

Twain continues his critique of the human race by referring to the

custom of keeping harems. Unlike roosters who keep harems without the aid

of force, humans do the same by means of compelling their concubines by

force. Even the rooster is thus seemingly superior to the Sultan.

Even the cat whose morals are so loose is not as low as man. Man has

consciousness. Unlike the cat, he know when he errs. If the cat acts badly,

it does so in innocence. Man’s wrongdoing is done with awareness.

Apparently, as Twain sees it, the capacity of knowing makes the harmful act

more reprehensible. Man is thus, in his view, inferior even to one of nature’s

most ruthless predators.

Twain goes on to point out that man is the only animal that “invented”

indecency, vulgarity, and obscenity. “Man,” he writes, “is the Animal that

Blushes” (Twain, 2). Other creatures do not feel shame. How we are to

believe this makes us inferior to other species is unclear.

The final and perhaps most compelling point Twain makes is that “of all the animals,

man is the only one that is cruel” (Twain, 3). To support this, he cites

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various examples of torture and barbarous injustice. He affirms that among

all the animals man “is the only one that inflicts pain for the pleasure of

doing it” (Twain, 3). The capacity to torture others is apparently a uniquely

human phenomenon.

Conclusion:

Clearly, Twain’s essay is satirical. The conventional wisdom under

scrutiny is man’s belief in his superiority. Twain pops the balloon and

redirects us to a less exalted perspective. We need to be more humble, less

arrogant, not so self-satisfied. It is, however, hard to believe that Twain

actually thought he was inferior to cats, birds, anacondas, monkeys, and

ants. I believe he was simply challenging our tendency aggrandize

ourselves. We do, as a species, tend to glorify ourselves at the expense any

appreciation for the intelligence and worth of other species. It is also evident

that certain groups within the human race look down on other groups in

much the same way. It all amounts to prejudice. Bigotry, after all, is rooted

in the belief that one group is superior to another. It is our tendency to look

down on others because of the group to which they belong that engenders a

great deal of our cruelty both to animals and to our fellow man. Man’s

inhumanity is rooted in arrogance. By pointing out the fact that animals are

not possessed of many of our flaws, Twain has compelled us to reexamine

our view of our place in the universe. Are we at the top of the pyramid as we

like to believe? Are we the culmination of countless years of evolution? Are

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we really superior? Even if we do possess capabilities beyond the orangutan

and the tiger, we are still flawed in ways they are not.

What makes Twain’s presentation most compelling is humor. He was a

great humorist and a great humorist is one who opens our eyes through

laughter. In the end, Twain asks us to laugh at ourselves, not derisively, but

with a degree of humility which, I believe, he hopes will mitigate, at least to

some degree, our arrogance. His writing, though scathing, is witty and

charming. He enlightens us while entertaining us. Because we see the

humor of his insights, we do not feel offended. It is his tone that allows us to

accept his assertions with a grain of salt and to understand that he mean not

to insult us but to invite us to be less stuffy and more likeable. It takes a

wise man to laugh at himself. Twain, as such, has invited us to be wise. I,

for one, am happy to welcome his advice.

We may, however, consider the alternate view that the deprecation of

man’s great gifts only serves to undermine his aspirations. Do we not need

to believe that we are above the beasts to reach our full potential? Do we

not need to see ourselves as creatures featured in God’s image to live nobly?

If we all believed, as Twain has suggested, that we are inferior to animals,

would be motivated to do great things. An exalted ego produces exalted

works. Genius without at least touch of arrogance might well not flourish.

Surely, we have heard that all great men are humble, but we have also

heard of the grandiosity of men like Isaac Newton and Ludwig Van

Beethoven. It is dubious that they saw themselves as inferior to cats and

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ravens. One who has a small view of himself is likely to produce little. If

this is true, then it is unlikely, Twain was as humble as his essay might lead

us to believe he was. It is possibly more likely that, being a humorist, he

took pleasure in pointing out our foibles. He was in this respect a caricaturist

like Daumier or Dickens. Caricature is exaggeration. The noses are longer,

the cheeks wider, the foreheads taller than the real ones. The point is to

accentuate the peculiar nature of things. What is peculiar about us, in

Twain’s view, is our vanity, our tendency to think too much about ourselves.

He simply want to cut us down to size. If we choose shrink ourselves a bit,

we need not discard all of our grandiosity. The challenge is not to relinquish

pride but to manage it, to channel it into constructive channels. Pride for

pride’s sake is lamentable. Pride that generates creative produce is useful.

The Peacock nee not hide her feathers. The prima-donna need not be shy

about her talents. The challenge is to strive for the highest with the

awareness that in the greater scheme of things we are still quite small, to

acknowledge our flaws and limitation, to avoid boasting, and above all, to

recognized the value of all living things.

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Works Cited

Twain, Mark (Clemens, Samuel). The Damned Human Race.(Internet source) http://moodyap.pbworks.com/f/Twain.damned.pdf

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Your name

Course number and section

Name of your professor

Date of completion

________________________________________Title

Introduction:

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Body - Summary and Interpretation of The Damned Human Race.

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Conclusion:

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Works Cited