Definition of ANTHROPOMORPHIC
1: described or thought of as having a human form or human attributes <anthropomorphic deities>
2: ascribing human characteristics to nonhuman things <anthropomorphic supernaturalism>
So, at a young age I thought about that...and I decided it was hogwash. I know where this mostly got started though...
It didn't take me long to realize these ideas were drivel, but I do know the purpose behind such ideas....it allows certain humans who believed this philosophy...to do whatever they liked with animals. They were free to experiment on them, toruture them, kill them...and not have to be particularly bothered by it.
I evolved differently. I grew up to realized that animals were the balm to much human suffering...however, so many humans are blind to this fact. Humans and animals are inexorably linked...they affect us...we affect them. The more damage we do to them, the more damage we do to ourselves. My experiences with animals have convinced me more and more every day that they think and feel and they have a sense of humor and love to play. They are affected by our sadness and the sadness in each other. They know grief. They know pain.
There are lots of people in the world who spend all their efforts convincing other people that animals are just not as important in the grand scheme of things. That they are nothing but tools for us to use...a means to an end. I believe this thinking is morally and ethically wrong. I think it is a chicken shit way to try to get us out of assuming any responsibility for our actions on this planet. Most animals are sentient beings....now I'm not saying that a worm is as important as a frog or a frog as important as a dog....but if you look at the purpose of a worm...they break down soils and aerate them so that life can grow....life such as a frog who may serve as a meal for a higher invertabrate, so that life can be passed on within the instance of death. So then how important is a dog in that respect. I dunno...do you have a dog living with you? How important is that dog to you? I have two cats....and one thing I know...if there was an emergency and I had to get out of the house quick...those cats are the ones going with me...I would not leave them behind any more likely than I'd leave a child behind.
My Personal Attack Cat, Lily
I had an accident a few years ago where I almost lost my arm. I spent a couple of months in the hospital and when I came home my one older cat postitioned herself on the end of my bed like a little gargoyle...ever watchful...ever protecting. She would not leave that spot unless she had to eat or go to the bathroom but she would come right back and postition herself there looking toward the door....if I had to get up for any reason...she would jump down and follow me...to the bathroom...to get a bottle of water...and then return to the end of the bed when I laid back down. She did not like it when the home nurses came to change my bandages and she became a bit of a problem and I had to get her out of the room so they could work on me. When they left she'd come right back and check to make sure I was okay then settle down at the end of the bed. One day, my bosses came to visit me. They stood in the doorway talking to me as I lay in bed, and my ever watchful cat, Lily, never took her eyes off them. They made her uncomfortable...I could tell....and then I heard a low rumbling coming from her...I don't know if it was because they were loud or what...but my one boss took a step toward my bed... and in an instant Lily launched at her spitting and hissing and growling like a gosh darn mountain lion. Scared my boss so bad she practicallt jumped into her husband's arms. They backed out of the room a bit and Lily continued to snarl. I tried to calm her down but she wasn't having it. She was on point...and there were intruders...she didn't like the situation...and was letting everyone know. One of my other visitors laughed and said "I love cats like that"...
When I think about that now...I chuckled...she was soooo ferocious...and scary...but she was doing her job she thought...I'd been gone a long time...now I was with her again and she was not about to let anything happen to me. Is that was she was thinking? I dunno...I suppose there is some scientific explanation if you want to break it down that way. But I know in my heart....she was protecting me...and she still does. What makes them do that? I don't know...the whole time I was recuperating Lily never tried to attack my sister, who was in and out of my room contantly and feeding me meals and helping me.
Anyway...these are things I think about...animals are special...animals deserve our respect and compassion. When we can help them we should. It is not to our detriment but to our benefit to do so.
1: described or thought of as having a human form or human attributes <anthropomorphic deities>
2: ascribing human characteristics to nonhuman things <anthropomorphic supernaturalism>
When I was a kid someone told me that being ANTHROPOMORPHIC was wrong. It was supposedly wrong because it clouded judgement and interfered with clear and scientific thinking regarding, specifically, animals. Animals were not to be considered thinking, feeling entities...they were only things that existed on the same planet with us...but did not deserve the same consideration of compassion and empathy as humans.
So, at a young age I thought about that...and I decided it was hogwash. I know where this mostly got started though...
René Descartes is often credited with being the “Father of Modern Philosophy.” I read some of his stuff and when I did I just shook my head. Descartes’ point is that the use of language is a sign of rationality and only things endowed with minds or souls are rational. Hence, it follows that no animal has an immaterial mind or soul. For Descartes this also means that animals do not, strictly speaking, have sensations like hunger, thirst and pain. Rather, squeals of pain, for instance, are mere mechanical reactions to external stimuli without any sensation of pain. In other words, hitting a dog with a stick, for example, is a kind of input and the squeal that follows would be merely output, but the dog did not feel anything at all and could not feel pain unless it was endowed with a mind. Humans, however, are endowed with minds or rational souls, and therefore they can use language and feel sensations like hunger, thirst, and pain. He likens animals to machines...and their squealing is simply equal to how metal squeals when stressed. Sounds like a serial killer mentality to me.
It didn't take me long to realize these ideas were drivel, but I do know the purpose behind such ideas....it allows certain humans who believed this philosophy...to do whatever they liked with animals. They were free to experiment on them, toruture them, kill them...and not have to be particularly bothered by it.
I evolved differently. I grew up to realized that animals were the balm to much human suffering...however, so many humans are blind to this fact. Humans and animals are inexorably linked...they affect us...we affect them. The more damage we do to them, the more damage we do to ourselves. My experiences with animals have convinced me more and more every day that they think and feel and they have a sense of humor and love to play. They are affected by our sadness and the sadness in each other. They know grief. They know pain.
There are lots of people in the world who spend all their efforts convincing other people that animals are just not as important in the grand scheme of things. That they are nothing but tools for us to use...a means to an end. I believe this thinking is morally and ethically wrong. I think it is a chicken shit way to try to get us out of assuming any responsibility for our actions on this planet. Most animals are sentient beings....now I'm not saying that a worm is as important as a frog or a frog as important as a dog....but if you look at the purpose of a worm...they break down soils and aerate them so that life can grow....life such as a frog who may serve as a meal for a higher invertabrate, so that life can be passed on within the instance of death. So then how important is a dog in that respect. I dunno...do you have a dog living with you? How important is that dog to you? I have two cats....and one thing I know...if there was an emergency and I had to get out of the house quick...those cats are the ones going with me...I would not leave them behind any more likely than I'd leave a child behind.
My Personal Attack Cat, Lily
I had an accident a few years ago where I almost lost my arm. I spent a couple of months in the hospital and when I came home my one older cat postitioned herself on the end of my bed like a little gargoyle...ever watchful...ever protecting. She would not leave that spot unless she had to eat or go to the bathroom but she would come right back and postition herself there looking toward the door....if I had to get up for any reason...she would jump down and follow me...to the bathroom...to get a bottle of water...and then return to the end of the bed when I laid back down. She did not like it when the home nurses came to change my bandages and she became a bit of a problem and I had to get her out of the room so they could work on me. When they left she'd come right back and check to make sure I was okay then settle down at the end of the bed. One day, my bosses came to visit me. They stood in the doorway talking to me as I lay in bed, and my ever watchful cat, Lily, never took her eyes off them. They made her uncomfortable...I could tell....and then I heard a low rumbling coming from her...I don't know if it was because they were loud or what...but my one boss took a step toward my bed... and in an instant Lily launched at her spitting and hissing and growling like a gosh darn mountain lion. Scared my boss so bad she practicallt jumped into her husband's arms. They backed out of the room a bit and Lily continued to snarl. I tried to calm her down but she wasn't having it. She was on point...and there were intruders...she didn't like the situation...and was letting everyone know. One of my other visitors laughed and said "I love cats like that"...When I think about that now...I chuckled...she was soooo ferocious...and scary...but she was doing her job she thought...I'd been gone a long time...now I was with her again and she was not about to let anything happen to me. Is that was she was thinking? I dunno...I suppose there is some scientific explanation if you want to break it down that way. But I know in my heart....she was protecting me...and she still does. What makes them do that? I don't know...the whole time I was recuperating Lily never tried to attack my sister, who was in and out of my room contantly and feeding me meals and helping me.
Anyway...these are things I think about...animals are special...animals deserve our respect and compassion. When we can help them we should. It is not to our detriment but to our benefit to do so.
