28th May 2006, 11:08 AM
DJ/ I see what you mean, but you're straying from logic, a cow's purpose is to reproduce; indirectly becase of that base the predators in the area use the cow a a food source, causing the cow to evolve in to herd mentality, causing vast areas of grass to be eaten at once, causing mass migration, causing predators to follow and spread which influences thousands of other animals and so on. Indirectly, the cow's purpose is to eat the grass, poop out the high nutrient feces, which causes the grass to grow back stronger next season which will cause the cows to make rounds across miles and miles of terrain eventually returning to the same area before. Dependiing on influence (people, heavy predator population) its rounds may lose ground, forcing the migrations in to a tighter area not giving enough time for the grass to cycle, causing vast plains to die out, causing the cows to die out, wwho in turn will risk predators and man in order to find the grass as a last ditch effort. But when food is scarce, almost all animals including man will mate less until food is found.
So when you're applying a purpose to something all you have to do is look at it logically, there are indirect purposes (unknown to the animal) and conscious efforts such as perpetuation. Saying a cow's purpose is to be eaten is actually correct, the entire reason cow's exist (they survived in even greater numbers before farming was created) is because they're such an easy food source for predators, so the cow's desire to survive gave them longer mating cycles, quick births, herd mentalities, massive weight etc, which is why they exist today even though they seem to be such an easy target, they basically evolved to be eaten by predators while still growing stronger and keeping their numbers so their entire existence is self perpetuating; the more they're attacked and eaten, the better survivors they become.
But all of this comes from the single purpose of will to perpetuate. If you deny any animal the ability to mate, they become angry, depressed, suffer mood swings, become bitter, etc. Of course it's hard to recognize such behaviors in cats and dogs, but it's incredibly obvious in human beings for us to recognize. To mate in order to perpetuate the species is litteraly the only reason human beings exist as with any other animal, even asexual organisms. This isn't a 'placed' purpose, it's a fact of existence.
So when you're applying a purpose to something all you have to do is look at it logically, there are indirect purposes (unknown to the animal) and conscious efforts such as perpetuation. Saying a cow's purpose is to be eaten is actually correct, the entire reason cow's exist (they survived in even greater numbers before farming was created) is because they're such an easy food source for predators, so the cow's desire to survive gave them longer mating cycles, quick births, herd mentalities, massive weight etc, which is why they exist today even though they seem to be such an easy target, they basically evolved to be eaten by predators while still growing stronger and keeping their numbers so their entire existence is self perpetuating; the more they're attacked and eaten, the better survivors they become.
But all of this comes from the single purpose of will to perpetuate. If you deny any animal the ability to mate, they become angry, depressed, suffer mood swings, become bitter, etc. Of course it's hard to recognize such behaviors in cats and dogs, but it's incredibly obvious in human beings for us to recognize. To mate in order to perpetuate the species is litteraly the only reason human beings exist as with any other animal, even asexual organisms. This isn't a 'placed' purpose, it's a fact of existence.