How does the text use comparisons to animals and inanimate objects to illustrate the futility of a life lived without higher purpose?

Chapter 8 employs several powerful comparisons to emphasize its philosophical point. It states that if a human's life is only about filling their belly and reproducing, there is no difference between them and a dog. To highlight the meaninglessness of a purely physical existence, the text asks what a blacksmith's bellows lacks, since it also breathes, and notes that dogs possess sturdy bodies. This line of reasoning suggests that if we only focus on bodily functions and pleasures, we are no better than animals or even simple machines. As Chapter 8 explains, this is why the true success of human birth must be something more: the realization of the Eternal.