“Man is a rational animal who always loses his temper when he is called upon to act in accordance with the dictates of reason.” - Oscar Wilde

The Sympathetic Imagination is a very strange topic. In our previous discussions, the basic conclusion was that, when trying to practice on humans, is an unobtainable feat, though something that we all strive for. The rationale behind this was because humans have the capacity to be ever-changing, and constantly morph their persona and ethics with every situation that is encountered. However, I think that the sympathetic imagination becomes more obtainable when straying away from like beings, but trying to associate oneself with another object, or animal.

I distinctly remember the conversation that we had regarding the sympathetic imagination and a tree, and how there is a point where one finds a lack of words to describe the sensory experience. I feel like this connection can be found in animals. Why does a dog look you in the eyes? Are they trying to find out something about you, or is it merely the reflection of light that surprises them. People compare me a lot of times to a monkey because I randomly perform acrobatic stunts, but does that even make me a monkey?

I say that I know my dog, Lucy, but how much do I really know her? For the last two years of my life we occupied the same house, though she tended to be outside as I was inside. Put me in a room with other individuals who look like Lucy, and I am confident that I could still point her out. There is something within the connection between human and animal, and that companionship, as well as my recognition of her attitude. She acts in two ways: first, boundlessly energetic, and second, lethargically tired. There is very little shift between the polarized ends. You could say that she represents the joy in life.

As humans, we tend to perceive our beings as the more intellectual, and I think we do so for a couple of reasons. One specifically is our ability to adapt and adopt. We touched on this on Tuesday, but never really expounded the findings. Russell presented the idea of putting a wasp and a human in a cold environment. Humans would be able to out survive the wasp due to our utilization of resources, and the renaissance aspect of consolidating all of our knowledge in order to face the task at hand. Yes, on one hand we could provide ourselves with shelter, as the wasp does…. But can the wasp still thrive when that task is complete? For the human species, ignorance is the fault that one can make to not embark upon finding enlightenment. Unlike Hitler’s army, who treated their own species as animals, “ignorance may have been a useful survival mechanism” 1; while animals are unable to even grasp the entirety of the concept.

I am not one to try and persuade others to feel the same way that I feel. I realize I am a unique individual with unique ideals, and can not therefore press my views onto others. I do believe that animals have souls, but at what point is one able to step away from that and reason why things are the way they are? I have always associated the horse with my father, and since his passing have found the human/horse connection even more intriguing. On Saturday, I stood for a long time with my head placed upon the forehead of the horse staring into its eyes. There is something there, I have no doubt. The horse understands what is going on, but probably only as far as thinking something is on its forehead. We attribute human qualities to animals, but is there an animal that encompasses all of these qualities? Owl is wisdom, horse is freedom, dog is companion, all unilateral comparisons.

I am tired of sitting in discussion being judged because of the things I believe. I find it very often that someone brings up a topic and is trumped because another disagrees, or rolls eyes at the comment. I am not vegetarian, yet, I do feel it is necessary to try and focus more on slaughterhouses using more humane methods in treating their livestock. I feel very similar to the questioner in Elizabeth Costello, who asks “what [Costello] is actually targeting. Are you saying we should close down the factory farms? Are you saying we should stop eating meat? Are you saying we should treat animals more humanely, kill them more humanely? Are you saying we should stop experiments on animals?” 2 What is it that people find so disgusting about others who chose to eat meat? I cannot speak for anyone else, but watching only the beginnings of Earthlings gave me the same stomach turning feeling as the images and clips I have seen of humans treating slaves, or war prisoners. Who is crazier?

The last comment I have to make is what animals would think of the way that we treat animals. I actually feel that it would not even faze them. How are we supposed to make these claims for them? Anne Tyler said, “Ever consider what pets must think of us? I mean, here we come back from a grocery store with the most amazing haul - chicken, pork, half a cow. They must think we're the greatest hunters on earth!”

P.S. I know that I am confused of the classification of jellyfish, but I wonder how a vegetarian would feel about eating them.

1. Coetzee. Elizabeth Costello. 64.

2. Coetzee. Elizabeth Costello. 81.