Re:What the grieving mother orca tells us about how animals ...
by ddingus on Monday August 27, 2018 @12:41AM
(#17849474)
I have settled on the definition of a soul being, "that which makes us unique."
Animals souls do not burn as bright, or as complex as ours do, and perhaps the higher order animals do, but they are there.
I had a special cat once. Deep bond with my wife and I. When my wife was sick, that cat attended to her. She reported the caring touch, done for the same reasons any of us would.
When she died, it was powerful.
She wanted to be with us, and she communicated basic affection, fear, the need to be close, pain, and more.
It was remarkably like the passing of a person. Simpler, but not less, just simpler.
It is hard to justify a lot of what we do, given these kinds if experiences.
One other thing: Animals do vary. Widely. But, when we invest in them, seek mutual understanding, they respond. The more capable ones can respond more than I belueve we realize.
Animals souls do not burn as bright, or as complex as ours do, and perhaps the higher order animals do, but they are there.
I had a special cat once. Deep bond with my wife and I. When my wife was sick, that cat attended to her. She reported the caring touch, done for the same reasons any of us would.
When she died, it was powerful.
She wanted to be with us, and she communicated basic affection, fear, the need to be close, pain, and more.
It was remarkably like the passing of a person. Simpler, but not less, just simpler.
It is hard to justify a lot of what we do, given these kinds if experiences.
One other thing: Animals do vary. Widely. But, when we invest in them, seek mutual understanding, they respond. The more capable ones can respond more than I belueve we realize.