Virginia Press - Journal Entry 13 - Aesthetics of Fellowship

 Some people don't believe animals feel human emotions. Personally, I don't think I know enough to say; but in my experience, they are definitely more intelligent than we give them credit for. They are capable of communicating, and they are aware of the difficulties in communication. For example, cats can adapt the ways they communicate to best suit owners, deliberately mimicking noises or even gestures they see their owners making. Cats and dogs and horses must have some concept of communication and interaction. And we are, at the end of the day, animals. 

How are we truly different from these animals? Why is our way of understanding and feeling the definitive way to think and be? One may say that they feel different emotions than we do and our understanding of their emotional expression is a projection of our own ideas. How is that any different than how we interact with one another? 

When you scold a dog, what looks like shame is fear. How different is that from a child cowering from a shouting parent? When you scan an elephant's brain, they seem to think we're cute. How different is that scan from one of s human looking at a puppy? What gives us to devalue one chemical reaction in favor of another? Who are we to say to ascribe attributes to that which we can never experience? Who's to say the whales and dolphins don't speak in concepts and verbs we aren't privvy to. 

I think the best course of action is to be respectful, of course. I understand the issues anthropomorphizing wild animals can pose to conservation efforts. But spiritually, I am hesitant to relegate any creature to experience the world to a lesser extent.